Chasing Away The Shadows:A Sequel
by A Cullen Wannabe
Summary: Lina was adopted and raised by the Cullens and at the age of sixteen found her soulmate in Seth.Her life is nearly perfect except for the dreams that seem to threaten all that she cherishes.Can she save the ones she loves?Sequel to In The Shadow Of The Da
1. Birthday Surprises

**_Author's Note: Chasing Away The Shadows is for all intents and purposes volume II to In The Shadow of the Day, but to avoid confusion I decided to give it a new name. I didn't want to expend too much space recapping, so if you find this story and want to understand more of the background please go to my profile page and read In the Shadow of the Day first! Thanks and welcome back all of you who fell in love with Seth and Lina the first time around, I hope you're as happy with round two as I am to write it! Please Read and Review!_**

**Disclaimer: This story and it's prequel were inspired by the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. Thus being the case, I don't own the rights to any of the original characters. This is not intended for copyright infringement purposes.**

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**1. Birthday Surprises**

"Wake up Lina…wake up my Angel…" The voice of the love of my life penetrated my dream and pulled me happily toward consciousness. "Lina…" I felt his warm soft lips brush across mine as I felt one of his hands rub small light circles on my stomach while the other gently combed through my hair and across my forehead. I could feel the smile spread across my face before my eyelids obeyed their mental order to open, but then they slowly followed suit as the vision of my fiancée Seth leaning over me from his seat on the side of my bed fluttered into clarity.

"There are those beautiful green eyes!" Seth said with a warm smile. "Happy seventeenth birthday Angel!"

I leaned up and slid my hands around his neck as I pulled his lips to mine, quickly increasing the intensity parting his lips with my tongue and exploring happily. The giggles of my sister, Alice, standing behind him with the rest of my family informed me that we were not alone and I pulled back slightly placing another small peck on his lips before turning my smile to them. It's been nearly four months since Seth officially asked me to be his wife while visiting his family in La Push on New Year's Eve, and after that I was less and less embarrassed about displaying open and unrestricted affection in the presence of my family.

My family all stood along the back wall of the room with balloons and presents in hand, obviously not able to wait half an hour for me to get cleaned up and come downstairs before throwing me a party. "Happy Birthday!" they all shouted enthusiastically in unison and I couldn't suppress my laugh knowing that they will probably still be just as overly enthusiastic on my birthday when I'm eighty as they were today.

"Thanks everybody…but can't we hold off the party until AFTER I get out of my jammies?"

"Sorry sweetie," my mother, Esme, said softly as she crossed to hug me, "But Seth has already claimed you for the whole weekend so we only get you this morning and we're not willing to waste even one second of it!"

I wrapped my arms around my mother's cool neck looking up at Seth with a mixture of speculation and accusation in my gaze. He just chuckled lightly and fidgeted excitedly in his place on my bedside. He looked like a little kid on Christmas morning anxious to rip into the presents…except in this case he was giving the presents instead of receiving.

Each of my family members made their way over to me giving me hugs and laying presents on my lap. I didn't know why they insisted on giving presents because they spoiled me to death anyway. I have never been in want for anything in my life, and they even built and furnished a house for Seth to live in to be near me for Christmas for goodness sake! As I began to open my presents I was slightly confused by the strange theme that they all seemed to share. Each and every one seemed to be travel oriented. I got a new big purple suitcase with the nice swivel wheels from my parents, a whole barrage of new clothes from Alice and Jasper (although I'm sure Jasper had little to do with it) for warm, sunny weather, and a beach kit that included a new swimsuit, towel, sandals, and suntan lotion from Rosalie and Emmett. I blushed quite profusely at the swimsuit that would probably make Seth happy, but didn't please my parents very much…and I wasn't sure I had the confidence to wear it anyway. Edward and Bella gave me a new digital camera with a massively huge memory chip and Jake and Ness gave me a new iPod Touch already loaded with some games and a ton of my favorite songs.

"Wow you guys, thank you…but am I going somewhere?"

They all smiled and rushed over to give me one last hug and kiss and then left me alone with Seth. He smiled at me knowingly.

"Go get cleaned up and bring back your toiletries. We have to be leaving in the next hour to catch our flight."

"Where are we going?" I asked as he started packing my new suitcase with the clothes I had just received.

He turned to me and kissed my nose, "That's for me to know and you to find out. Now go get ready and don't try to figure out my surprise!"

I crinkled my forehead as I went into the bathroom ignoring his order and analyzing my gifts in order to figure out where we could possibly be going. I stepped into the shower mindlessly and got myself ready for the day as I contemplated. The clothes were warm which would imply south, the beach kit indicated somewhere sunny and with a beach of some sort, and the iPod implied that the trip might take a while and I might need some entertainment. I couldn't for the life of me think where it could be though and we really only had a three day weekend to fit it all in before I had to be back in school on Monday. Technically I was supposed to be there today, but my parents always let me skip school on my birthdays. They were always so cool like that. I finished getting ready and dried off my shampoo and conditioner and threw all of my toiletries and necessities into my little travel bag and made my way back down to my bedroom.

I walked in to find that Seth sitting waiting with the bag fully packed, I guessed Alice had come back and helped him finish to make sure he covered all of his bases. He took my toiletry bag and tucked it into a small space left for it and then turned back to me wrapping his arms around my waist and reaching down resting his forehead on mine.

"You just can't resist trying to solve a good mystery can you?" he said as he bent down to kiss me again. "I can't help it, I love driving you nuts!" I stuck out my pouty lip knowing that he can't resist and giggled as he pulled it between his to suck on it gently before placing a long sweet passionate kiss on my lips right after which always left me smiling.

He looked over at the clock and took the suitcase off the bed telling me to hurry or we'll be late gesturing for me to get dressed into the outfit that Alice had laid out for me and rushed out the door closing it behind him. I went over to examine the outfit. It was unusual for Alice and consisted of very lightweight clothes layered under heavier ones. I smiled in realization that they were designed to strip down as the weather got warmer as we transitioned from here to wherever our destination was. I threw them on and went downstairs to find that everyone was gathered to wish us a safe journey. I was especially surprised to see that there were no bags for anyone else. I knew that it would have to most likely be Jake and Ness that accompany us since the plans included sunny locations, but there was no indication that we were being chaperoned this time. I looked up questioningly and Seth smiled knowingly before making his way out to his Camry and throwing my bags in the trunk. I shrugged and hugged my family and followed him out waving goodbye as we drove off toward the airport.

"Is this some kind of trick? Where's the supervisory escort?"

"Eh, after Washington they realized that Jake and Nessie sort of suck at it and we did a good enough job keeping ourselves in check that they sort of gave up on chaperones. I think considering that we could manage to do whatever we allow ourselves to basically anywhere, including home, that they decided it was silly to even try."  
I giggled a little at the Jake and Nessie comment and then listened open mouthed in shock at the rest. I finally closed it when I thought about the past few months. "I guess they have been pretty laid back about everything lately. I hadn't really noticed because well a lot of our standards are self imposed, but I guess you're right."

He reached over and took my hand from my lap and pulled it up to his mouth to kiss it and then continued to hold it as we drove on.

We arrived at the airport and checked in our luggage and made our way to the gates hand in hand. Seth would occasionally look down at me with the hugest smile on his face as we made our way through the terminal. He still had managed to make sure I was annoyingly unaware of our destination. I sat and wiggled in my seat, anxious to solve the mystery of my surprise birthday trip. After a while Seth reached over and grabbed my face between both of his hands and kissed me sweetly and lusciously, not unlike how he had done the last time we were waiting at the airport to fly back to Washington to meet his friends and family and pack him up to move near me. The only difference between that time and this is that we were far more comfortable with one another. As usual, Seth had to be the voice of reason, pulling me back from my hormonal overdrive. He pulled back and ran his fingers down my back comfortingly just as the speakers overhead announced flight two oh seven for Los Angeles boarding at Gate 3.

"Well that's us," he said with a wide smile, having sat us in front of gate 8 to Houston in an attempt to throw me off the scent.

"L.A? Really?"

He reached his arms around my waist leading me to the line with our carry on bags over his shoulder. "I promised you didn't I?"

I vaguely remembered us talking in passing about it back when he made his first trip out for the movie website when we first started becoming friends. The movie, which came out in January, was a huge success along with the amazing web design that got lots of attention. After that Seth was inundated with more work than he could ever ask for. The only bad part was that it led to two week-long trips to LA to work on the new sites and gather research, but the money was so good that neither one of us could complain. Seth spent a lot on me from time to time, but otherwise he saved like a miser and already had quite a nice nest egg saved up for our wedding, honeymoon, college tuition for me which he has been insisting that he wants to pay for in spite of my family's arguments, and to build our first family sized home when we thought we were ready…and all before I was even a senior in high school!

Sometimes it was overwhelming realizing that so much of my life was already planned out for me at such a young age, but a bigger part of me was glad. How many people are lucky enough to find their soul mate and KNOW that they belong together with no question at all. The beauty of imprinting erased all of the uncertainty, not that I would have had much besides the worry that Seth might imprint on someone else if it hadn't been me, but thankfully that was a problem that had been erased forever the first time he saw me in person.

We found our seats on the plane and settled in for the seven and a half hour trip ahead of us. First we had a short hour and a half hop to Chicago with a short thirty-minute layover and then a four and a half hour flight from Chicago to LAX. I quickly found that I wasn't in need of Jake and Nessie's distraction, which was their own little private joke regarding our last flight when we went to Washington where we were embarrassed by their unending make out sessions, public displays of affection were no longer an issue for us. We were still being good, well relatively at least, but we had definitely become more and more comfortable with the upper halves of each other's body since our engagement.

Actually it had been our drive home from Washington that led to the destruction of the shirt hem barrier. We did good the first day or so after our engagement, while still remaining as respectful as humanly possible under his mother's roof, but pretty much the first night of our cross-country road trip home the barrier was shattered. We left mid morning on New Year's Day after loading Seth's belongings. Ness and Jake drove the Uhaul and Seth and I drove his car. We made it ten hours that first day stopping in Missoula Montanta to enjoy the scenery before the bleak and nearly endless stretch we were about to face across the Great Plains. We had plans to leave around dawn and make as much distance as we possibly could, not stopping until late in the evening.

We stayed in a beautiful little hotel that overlooked the picturesque skyline, the great and beautiful Rocky Mountains in the distance. We intentionally asked to be given a room on the opposite side of the hotel as Jake and Nessie. They had gone a whole week in her grandparents' house and we had the strong feeling that distance would be a very smart thing to ask for. We sat for the longest time cuddled up in the comforter on the balcony just enjoying the view and the crisp mountain air. With the comforter capturing Seth's body heat, it was really quite cozy…but once the kissing started without the knowledge of family nearby and no unexpected interruptions to stop us, things got more than a little heated.

It was wonderful how amazing he made me feel, the simple caress of his lips on the tender flesh that had always been confined behind the tension of my bra was enough to send me into a frenzy. We were surprised when we encountered a very unexpected reaction from myself though. It seemed that my body's instinctual reaction to his lips and tongue caressing that previously forbidden area involved a very pleasant, and yet nowhere near helpful for our restraint, movement of my hips. At first we were so caught up in the thrill of the moment that we sort of went along with it for a while, Seth's body reacting instinctually with my own as his attention to the new flesh intensified and his hips moved in circles with my own, both of us releasing soft moans in response. We continued on like this for a full minute until I breathlessly moaned his name and somehow that brought us back to reality. We froze, both breathless, looking at one another with wide eyes as he lay on top of me in the bed, his arousal suddenly extremely obvious against my leg. He slowly rolled over to lay next to me while keeping his eyes locked on mine and I pulled the sheet of the bed across my torso as we both lay there unable to pull ourselves any further apart, but also knowing that we had to.

Finally I broke the silence asking if a run would be helpful to which he quickly rose and left the room leaving me alone. I also needed help cooling my overheated libido, so I jumped in the shower, hopping in the cold water and fighting to quiet my screams. Finally satisfied that I was sufficiently past my issues, I dried off and put on the most modest pajamas I could find and crawled into bed, hoping that Seth was okay and would be back soon. Thankfully he climbed into bed and snuggled up to me a few hours later and whispered into my ear, "Now that was…_interesting_!" I giggled and pulled his arm tighter across my waist and drifted off to sleep.

Since then we haven't crossed any new barriers knowing that the instinctual hip movements are more than enough temptation for a while, after all we still have a full year until I'll be eighteen and we will have kept our promise to one another, but in the meantime we have learned to embrace the reaction a little more. Of course on the plane in public we kept our affectionate displays to simply kissing, but we were most assuredly annoying many of the passengers on both plane trips with our incessant cuddling and kissing.

We landed in LA, grabbing our luggage and getting a Taxi. Seth gave directions and I sat back and watched the chaos of the LA traffic zoom around us out of the car window. We went north along the expressway, passing by the many buildings as we traveled. I recognized some of the tall skyscrapers, not knowing any of their names with the exception of the Empire Records tower. We traveled further along seeing the Hollywood sign as we passed, still heading north. Finally we turned off traveling toward the ocean and stopped in front of an amazing condo which appeared to sit right on the beach.

Seth paid for the Taxi and carried our bags up to the front door letting us in with a key in his pocket. I walked in to the beautifully decorated living room of the condo. I was ecstatic to see I was right, I had a viewpoint all the way through the house in order to see a sliding glass door that opened directly onto a deck that led down to the beach and the ocean beyond.

"Wow Seth, this is amazing!" I said looking slowly around the swank digs.

"Loaner from the director of the movie that I'm doing the site for. He offered it when I was down last month and mentioned wanting to bring you out this way for your birthday. You like?" He said sitting the bags down and walking back over to hug me around the waist.

"I love!" I giggled throwing my arms around his neck and giving him a long appreciative kiss.

He swept me up into his arms bridal style. "Wait until you see the rest of the place!" He said carrying me up the stairs and opening the door with the hand that was holding up my knees as he took me on a quick tour of the upstairs before taking me to the bedroom which had a huge window overlooking the surf and laid me on the bed and leaning down over me to kiss me again more passionately. "Happy Birthday Angel." He whispered into my ear as he teased it with his lips. I sighed in delight and then pulled him back to me for a long thank you kiss.

We stayed there for the next hour, enjoying the romance of being away together and enjoying the sensations of exploring one another. Finally we reached that point we always do where we have to pull away or risk breaking our promises and moved to sit cuddled up in each other's arms against the headboard to gaze out at the blue ocean beyond the large windows. He lazily ran his fingers back and forth across my arm, occasionally placing kisses on my face, as we sat for the next half hour or so soaking in the scenery.

Suddenly Seth looked at the clock and mumbled something about dinner reservations and shuffled me off to the bathroom to get cleaned up bringing me in my toiletry bag and a long garment bag that I hadn't noticed before telling me to get dressed up and put it on. I quickly cleaned up and pulled my hair up into a loose French twist the way Alice had taught me leaving a few tendrils of hair down to frame my face.

I opened the bag to find a long elegant royal blue satin gown. I was a little shocked when I put it on because the neckline and bodice showed far more cleavage than I typically felt comfortable with. I growled Alice's name like a curse as I pulled the matching wrap around my shoulders trying to find a way to wear it to help make myself feel less exposed, but with little luck. I slipped on the black stiletto heels and clipped the dangly diamond ear rings into my ears and placed the matching necklace that filled the uncovered space on my chest and narrowed down to a crystal heart pendant that dangled just above my exposed neckline. I sighed into the mirror feeling very relieved that the evening would be taking place with the one person I felt most comfortable with in the world and a bunch of strangers who I didn't know and would never see again. I shook my head in the mirror thinking of my devious sister and her sneakiness knowing I would have no other choice but to wear it and that being so far away from home I would manage to rationalize going out in spite of my discomfort. I took another deep breath and prepared myself to step out and wait for Seth's reaction.


	2. Will The Surprises Never End?

**2. Will The Surprises Never End? **

I walked out of the bathroom and down the hallway to the bedroom where I found Seth staring out at the ocean from the massive bedroom windows. The moon had risen in the sky casting a faint blue glow on the room and on my amazingly handsome Seth. My breath caught in my chest as I stood there staring at him in his dark suit and dress shoes. He turned hearing my sudden intake of breath and I could see the warm smile spread across his face as his eyes moved up and down me taking in the full measure of my discomfort.

"Wow! You are stunning." He said as he slowly crossed over to me taking both of my hands in his and holding them out away from my sides for another peek. His eyes stopped at my cleavage and he gave me a crooked smile that was a cross between appreciation and knowing that I would be feeling awkward.

"Alice decided to make you step out of your comfort zone didn't she?" I shook my head slowly feeling the heat flood my cheeks. "I don't know why you're so self-conscious. You look amazing and sexy, but not at all inappropriate. I will definitely have the most beautiful woman in the room on my arm tonight."

"Where are we going?"

"Dinner and then," he grimaced slightly, "I'm sorry…since the director knew I was in town he wanted to have a quick meeting for drinks. I hate to do it on your birthday, but..."

I flushed at the knowledge that I was meeting the director tonight looking like this but I quickly pushed it aside, "Oh no honey, it's fine. He's the whole reason why we have this beautiful place to stay in. I don't mind at all." I interrupted, placing my hand on his cheek. He looked down as if he felt guilty but I tipped his eyes back up to me. "It's important, plus it will be nice to have a face to go with the name when you talk about him."

He smiled at me and leaned in being careful not to mess up my hair or makeup and kissed me tenderly. "I love you my Angel."

"I love you too."

He took my hand and led me down the stairs and out the front door to a waiting long back limousine. The driver jumped out to get the door but Seth told him not to worry about it and reached forward to open the door for me. I slid in and he got in after me and I marveled at the extravagance of the car.

"The director insisted that we go out in style. He's really a nice guy. I think you'll like him."

We rode together in relative silence other than to point out landmarks on our way to the restaurant. We slowly pulled in front of a very upscale restaurant called Spago. Seth whispered to me as I looked out the window at the beautiful people going in and out of this extremely upscale establishment, "This restaurant is owned by Wolfgang Puck. According to Joe, Hollywood's finest all dine here." I turned to look back at him with eyes as large as saucers. He's taking me to the place where the Hollywood elite spend their time and he believes _I'm_ going to be the most beautiful girl in the room. The boy has lost his ever-loving mind…or I guess more to the truth he, as usual, is seeing me with imprint colored glasses.

About this time the chauffer reached the door and opened it for us. Seth stepped out and then reached back to offer me his hand. I stepped out into the beautifully comfortable air of the California night with a trembling step, worried that I will fall and embarrass myself in front of the waiting guests. He offered his arm, which I took nervously, and led me to the front desk where he very confidently informed them of our reservations. He was so amazing and self assured, I couldn't help but glow with pride at how easily he stepped into this world without the slightest air of insecurity. Being on his arm gave me a little more confidence and as I held his arm to enter the dining room my step was suddenly more confident as well.

We sat at a table for two out on the patio and looked at the menu choosing from the night's selection and then spent the rest of the evening talking and laughing together.

After dinner we returned to the limo and made our way across town to the Beverly Hills Hotel and made our way into the Polo Lounge to meet the movie director, Joe Scalia and his wife Willow. I was pleasantly surprised at his manners when Joe rose to shake Seth's hand and then reached for my own. His eyes appraised me for a moment as he introduced himself and then he smiled kindly and extended his hand for us to sit. Willow reached over and took my hand in a friendly gesture wishing me a happy birthday and asking what I thought of the condo and California. We spoke quietly for a while about our trip out and the amazing condo and the beautiful California weather as the boys discussed their business. She was a delightful and kind woman and so incredibly beautiful. She was dressed as formally as I in a long black gown that gathered in a cowl neckline. She was slender and blonde and the quintessential California beauty.

After no more than ten minutes of individualized conversation suddenly Joe spoke up from his side of the table addressing us ladies for the first time since our introductions. "So, Angelina, Seth here tells me that you're quite the talented actress."

"Excuse me?" I yelped flustered as the heat returned to my face in a vengeance.

He laughed lightly, "Well you do have the look, sweet demure girl next door is definitely in vogue again. You know Willow, I think we should get her to read for the part of Emily. That little diva Dawson backed out on us last week and we need to find a replacement."

"Oh, Mr. Scalia,"

"Please, call me Joe."

"Ok…Joe…I'm not really an actress at all. I did one high school musical six months ago." I cast a sideways glance at Seth, "He's just a wee bit blinded by love when it comes to me. I could never do anything professionally!"

He laughed lightly, "Sandy in Grease for your very first role is a pretty decent testament to your abilities, and I've seen the video, you're far better than you credit yourself for, but then again the best ones are always the least confident." He lazily stated reaching back and placing his hands behind his head.

I sat there in utter and total shock. I couldn't believe in a million years that an accomplished movie director would ever say anything like this to me. It was a thrill to be sure, but I knew what I had to offer, and it wasn't anything that would even come close to meeting Hollywood standards. I looked dazedly at Seth who was sitting there looking over at me proudly with an expression that said that he always thought that I could fulfill such a role. Then my gaze went to Willow who was appraising me stoically as though she were trying to envision me in the role. Thanks to Seth including me in all of his Non-disclosure agreements in order for me to help him with creative ideas, I was well acquainted with the story. Emily was a fairly major role in the movie, being the orphaned teen who wonders into the life of a couple with a troubled marriage and brings them together again as they try to help her and grow to love her and adopt her. Well, it wouldn't be a particularly hard role to play since she essentially was me minus the marriage healing part. For an instant daydreams of working as an actress in Hollywood, getting to have the joy of pretending to be someone else for a living flitted through my mind and sounded fun, but then I shook myself out of my reverie knowing that it would mean abandoning my family and never getting to see them again. Nothing in this world would be worth that.

I shook my head slowly, "I'm sorry Joe, but Hollywood isn't the place for me. It would be an amazing experience and I'm honored and to be honest, completely stunned that you even suggested it, but I have no desire to have an acting career. I want to go to college and raise a family and have a normal life. Thank you, but no thank you."

Willow smiled widely, obviously it was a rare thing that young ladies turned down such an auspicious opportunity and she was pleased by my unique response. "It's a shame because she is Emily personified," she said smiling, "but I praise you for being mature enough to not be tempted by the lures of this place. It may look glamorous on the outside, but it's not the place for a sweet and gentle girl like you."

I smiled and looked over to see her husband scowl slightly, obviously not happy to be turned down, which I guessed probably didn't happen often, and then looked down at the table a bit dejected before bringing the glass of scotch back to his mouth for a long sip. I then turned slowly to look at Seth afraid I had disappointed him too, but instead I was met with the warmest, widest, most glowing smile that I had seen on his face since the night that I agreed to marry him. He looked so…proud. I smiled back and squeezed his hand which had been holding mine the entire time we had been sitting here and he brought it up to his lips to kiss my engagement ring and then placed another one in the center of the back of my hand.

We sat and talked with Joe and Willow for another half an hour before Seth asked them to please excuse us, but he had one more birthday surprise for me and it was getting late. They both smiled widely again as they shook my hand as they bid me farewell and Seth led me back to the limo taking me into his arms for a passionate kiss as soon as the door was closed behind him.

"I love you so much. God, no words can describe how much I love you!"

I giggled lightly as I ran my fingers through his hair. "I love you too."

"You…you had them completely enchanted!" he let out a small chuckle. "You should have seen your face when he mentioned you reading for the role of Emily! I thought your eyes were going to pop completely out of your head! A part of me wanted you to go for it, to see you finally be recognized for your beauty and talent, and another part was afraid for you to."

I scoffed, "Like I ever would have actually gotten it anyway, please! But why would you be afraid? Afraid of what?"

He smiled at me softly pulling my hair down from it's high twist and running his fingers through it gently. "Afraid that you would become famous and rather have that life than one with me."

"Seth Harrison Clearwater! There is no such thing as a life without you! Don't you ever say such blasphemy again!" I was angry and at the same time sad, sad that he would believe that would ever be possible. I grabbed him and kissed him fiercely, desperate for him to feel that I would never, ever want a life without him. He kissed me back just as passionately, our embrace growing stronger, our hands roaming more freely. It was a bit of a thrill to make out in the back of a Limo and as he kissed along my collarbone I laughed out loud at the ironic cliché.

"Tickles?" He looked up hesitating as I giggled.

"No, just laughing at how cheesy this is…going at it in the back of a limo. It's fun though!" He shot a seductive smile at me as he moved down exploring the flesh that my dress left exposed for the rest of the trip. I wasn't sure where we were going and when the car stopped and we pulled away and tried to straighten ourselves up, I was surprised to see that we were back at the condo.

"I thought I had one more surprise tonight."

"You do…it's inside." He said as he helped me out of the car and then stood behind me kissing my shoulder. He led me with his hands on my waist up to the door and unlocked it with the key from his pocket and pushed open the door for me. I peeked inside the open door before I walked in to see, but I saw nothing but a dark room. He sighed and pushed me forward flipping on the lights as he went and led me to the bedroom. He told me to go ahead and get ready for bed and come back down to the living room when I was done.

I hurriedly washed my face and brushed my teeth and slipped into the silky pink camisole and matching shorts set that Alice had given me for my birthday and slowly tiptoed back downstairs to see what Seth was up to. I descended the stairs to find him laying across the couch with his head propped so he could watch the stairs smiling at me with a hint of hunger in his eyes. I crossed over to stand in front of him curious as to what he was up to. He reached up and tentatively rubbed the side of my leg that was covered with the silky shorts. "Soft" he whispered. I nodded.

Suddenly his smile widened and he sat up pulling me down onto his lap spinning me so that my feet were propped up on the couch where his head had just been and kissed me. "You ready for the last surprise of the night?" I shook my head with a small playful smile on my lips.

"I know you think the trip is your present and it is…partially, but I wanted to get you something else too." He said with a wide smile placing a long narrow velvet box on my legs and then wrapping his arms around my waist and placing a kiss on my shoulder. I reached over and gently opened the lid. Inside there was a rather large heart shaped locket embossed with golden flowers and tiny diamonds. I picked it up and looked closer to see that on the front the letters _ACCC_ were engraved in beautiful script lettering. I looked up at Seth immediately knowing that it stood for Angelina Cecelia Cullen Clearwater.

He smiled gently his lips never leaving my shoulder. "Well go ahead, open it." I gently pushed my fingernail in the seam and pried open the delicate heart. In one side there was a picture of he and I taken by his mother on the day of our engagement. He had chosen my favorite of course of us cuddled up in front of the fire smiling adoringly into each other's eyes. On the other side there was an inscription as well.

_You are my sun and my moon, my day and my night, one smile from you chases all of the shadows away. I'll love you forever and beyond. -Yours Always Seth_

I turned to look my darling Seth in the eyes, tears brimming my eyelids and rolling over down my cheeks. I turned and took his face in my hands.

"You are the most wonderful, amazing man I have ever known and I love you so much! I wish I didn't have to wait a whole year before I can marry you and be with you. You don't even know how badly I want to show you how very much I love you!"

"Well if it's anything like how badly I want to show you then I have a pretty good idea!" He laughed as he took the locket from my hands and gently slid it around my neck fastening it in the back as I held my hair up. He gently kissed the back of my neck where the clasp lay sending shivers through my body. I turned around again and kissed his lips, deliriously happy and desperate to show him how happy he made me. I stood up and took his hand and slowly led him up the stairs to our waiting bedroom, closing the door behind me.


	3. The Many Forms of Sight Seeing

**3. The Many Forms of Sight Seeing**

I could hear the sound of the surf rushing back and forth across the sandy beach before I opened my eyes. It was very bright in the room since we had forgotten to close the large Venetian blinds that could be drawn across the window to shut out the light. I squinted toward the bright morning with the sudden realization…we had forgotten to close the blinds! Heat flooded my face at the idea that if anyone had been walking the beach last night, there was a very real possibility that they would have gotten quite a show during our extremely passionate bedtime interactions after we had turned in for the night. I was on the verge of hyperventilating when Seth woke up.

"What's wrong sweetheart?"

"We didn't close the blinds last night! That huge window…anybody…could have…seen!" I was in full-blown hyperventilation now.

Seth sat up suddenly very worried about me, rubbing my back comfortingly, whispering to me trying to calm me down, but I couldn't focus on what he was saying, my humiliation dominating all my other senses.

Finally I felt his hands on my face and could see he had moved to kneel in front of me as I sat frantically gasping for breath, "Angel, Look at me. Lina…can you hear me?" My gaze focused on his face. "The lights were off so nobody would really have seen anything anyway, but these windows are made to be reflective, you can see out, but nobody can see in."

My heartbeat began to slow again and my breath evened out and he relaxed again in front of me and smiled knowing I was past the worst of my panic attack. He pulled me into a warm comforting hug, rubbing his hands up and down my back. I turned my face into his neck and kissed there gently. My overheated teenage hormones always getting the better of me, I began to show more appreciative attention to his neck and shoulder, my efforts rewarded with appreciative sounds from Seth's chest. Suddenly he pulled me away smiling wickedly and shaking his head.

"If we start this then we might never make it out of this room"

"I wouldn't be opposed to that idea," I responded with a sly playful smile.

He kissed my forehead and smiled back, his eyes twinkling, "Yes sweetheart, but I didn't fly you all the way across the country to do what we could do in our bedroom at home if we wished. I want to get you out on the beach and take you to see more of the sights today."

I sighed and stretched with the express purpose of making it slightly harder for him to remember that there were sights to see. He laughed huskily, seeing through my attempt to distract him, but not failing to be affected slightly by it either. He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "Now none of that my little vixen. Go get dressed for the beach and I'll meet you downstairs for some breakfast." And with that he got up and left me sitting on the bed. I slowly got up stretching again and digging my swimsuit out of the suitcase. I laid it out on the bed blushing at the pretty bikini that was nothing like anything I would ever choose for myself and stupid me, I was in such a rush to get out the door at Seth's insistence that I had forgotten to grab a more modest suit from my drawer. I returned to the suitcase rummaging in hopes that Alice had cast pity on me and packed something that I wouldn't feel so uncomfortable in, but to no avail.

I slid into the bikini and laughed at the nearly tomato red hue of the face in the mirror looking back. I grabbed the beach towel wrapping it around my torso trying to make it fit like a sari but it was too short and didn't provide coverage enough to make me feel comfortable. I looked at all of the other clothes that Alice had packed and they all looked too nice to be worn on the beach with the exception of one pair of blue denim shorts. Then I had an epiphany. I went over to the other suitcase that held Seth's clothes and pulled out one of Seth's cheesy short sleeve button down Hawaiian shirts that he had packed as a joke and slid it on. It was a bit big and far too long so I buttoned up the shirt leaving the top few undone and tied it around my waist and then grabbed my shorts and slid them on. I was dressed a bit more like Daisy Duke than I ever dreamed I would choose to be, but it was far better than the alternative.

I looked back at the mirror feeling much more confident than I had a few seconds ago and made my way downstairs where I was met with the aroma of bacon and eggs and saw that the door to the beach was open and place settings were set at the patio table outside. I jumped when I heard Seth's voice right at my ear, "Breakfast is served…and you look entirely too sexy in my shirt." As he placed a kiss on my neck right under my ear and walked past me with two plates in his hands that he placed on the table next to the waiting silverware and glasses of juice. I followed him and he pulled out my chair for me and then sat down himself.

"Thank you, this looks absolutely delicious! You don't mind do you? About the shirt I mean?"

"You're welcome my Angel." He replied reaching over to place a gentle kiss on my cheek before taking a bite. "And as far as I'm concerned you can wear my clothes anytime. You look much better in them," He said with a wink.

We ate in relative quietness for a while taking an occasional break to stare out over the beautiful blue ocean. I kept noticing Seth staring at me in my peripheral vision. Finally not able to stand it anymore I turned to look at him feeling a bit exasperated.

"WHAT?"

"What?"

"You keep staring at me funny…what?"

He laughed a little. "You just look amazing, I can't take my eyes off of you. It shocked me when you came down the stairs. I don't know, you just looked more confident somehow, especially for wearing something so much more," he paused as if trying to find the right word, "relaxed compared to what you usually wear."

I looked down not sure how to respond and examining my outfit. "Yeah, well I feel a lot better in this than the bikini that's beneath it. At least dressed in this I feel like I'm not hanging out for the world to see. I don't know what Rosalie was thinking when she bought this bikini and I wasn't awake enough yet when we left to think to grab my one piece!"

He smiled a crooked little smile and I desperately wanted to know what he was thinking. "What do you know?" I asked with a sarcastic suspicious tone.

He tried to look innocent throwing his hands up in defense, "I know nothing! I had nothing to do with anything besides the trip planning."

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye evaluating how honest he was really being. "Don't lie to me Seth Clearwater, you promised you would never do that."

He took in a deep breath, "That I did…I don't really KNOW anything, I just have my suspicions."

"And they are?"

"I think that your sisters are trying to build your self esteem and self confidence by proving to you that you're far prettier than you believe and don't need to hide yourself quite so much."

"Hey! I don't hide myself." I blurted suddenly defensive. "Is it such a sin to be modest?"

"Absolutely not!" He said taking my hand and looking into my eyes. I could tell that he really didn't mind that I was a modest dresser. "I just think they feel bad in a way because they know that part of your self esteem issues are due to living around them and they hate to see that you try to compare yourself to them and believe that you come up short. You _have _toknow that they think of you as far more beautiful than they are because your beauty is natural and soft, not crafted by venom."

I shrugged feeling extremely shy and looked down at the table, no longer wanting to continue the discussion. It didn't matter what they thought, I knew what I was, how I looked, how I appeared to the world. No amount of manipulations by the diabolical duo would change that. Besides the only opinion that mattered to me was that of my Seth and he loved me just the way I was, modest or not. I felt Seth's warm finger gently tip my chin to gaze back up to meet his eyes. It was almost as if he were reading my thoughts.

"No matter how you dress, you will always be the most beautiful woman in the world to me. Nothing will ever, ever change that."

"Not even when I get old and saggy?" I asked crinkling my nose with a crooked smile.

"I'll be sitting right there by you sagging myself!" he said with a laugh as he reached his arm around my shoulder and hugged me to his side placing a kiss on my nose.

"Even if I become totally disfigured by some horrible accident?"

"Always."

I looked at him suddenly with sadness and concern, "Even if the Volturi come some day and force me to have to become a vampire?"

His eyebrows furrowed. We hadn't talked about the Volturi since the dreadful day that I had seen the playground at LaPush and it reminded me of my hideous dream that they had come to kill the children of the pack members. "I won't let that happen, but if somehow it did, I will love you till the end of time and NOTHING will ever, ever change that."

I leaned my head forward touching my forehead to his with my eyes closed. "You promise?" I whispered.

"I promise, with every fiber of my being I promise."

We sat there with his arms draped around me comforting me for a long time trying not to think about the dangers we might face in our future and instead trying to distract ourselves with the warm rays of sun streaming down on us from above and the clean cool ocean breeze blowing around us. After a while Seth sighed.

"What are we doing sitting up here? Let's get down there and enjoy this beach! You stay here, I'll go grab the supplies."

"Oh, could you run up to our room and grab my bag with my towel and sunscreen please?"

"Will do!" He cheered disappearing into the house. I walked over to the railing of the deck and stood leaning against it looking up and down the mostly deserted beach. I could feel the wind blowing my hair out behind me in the breeze. Oh how I wished my family could enjoy days like this. I guess they did on Isle Esme on the occasional vacation, but I knew that it was a real hardship having to hide from the sun all of the time, especially as much as they enjoyed the warmth it provided on their skin. They deserved more of the small pleasures like that in life. They lived well considering their situation, but I understood too that there was so much that they were deprived of in life. It made me so sad for them when I would think about it. I was just starting to realize how much I was starting to mope needlessly in this beautiful place when I heard Seth behind me again with my bag stuffed full of supplies.

I heard the sound of my new digital camera taking a snapshot before I heard Seth's voice. "What's the matter Angel? You look so far away." He said sitting the bag and the camera on the table and coming to stand behind me wrapping his arms around my waist and placing a kiss on my neck.

"Oh just thinking about how much my family would love to be here enjoying this, but they never really can. Only on their rare escapes to Isle Esme do they get to experience anything remotely like this." I said with another forlorn sigh.

I could feel him smile slightly against the skin of my neck before he let out his own small sigh, "Always so worried about others and never taking the time to enjoy things for yourself. I love you for it, but at the same time, I want you to enjoy this with me sweetheart."

I turned around so I was facing him and leaning with my back against the railing. "I am enjoying this with you. It was a just a quick blip, but I'm ready to get down there and feel this sand between my toes…you ready?"

He smiled wickedly grabbing my hand and the bag on the table and pulling me down the stairs to the sandy ground below. We spent the rest of the morning walking up and down the beach taking pictures of each other and the scenery and then returned to the sand outside the back of our condo and pulled two beach chairs that belonged to the owners and sat out by the water. After a little encouragement from Seth and a long scan to be sure that the beach was fairly uninhabited today, I reluctantly took off Seth's shirt to lie in the sun in my bikini top and shorts. Seth looked over and smiled offering to help me with my sunscreen. I immensely enjoyed that part and decided maybe bikinis weren't that bad after all. I laid back on the chair closing my eyes to fully embrace the relaxing rays. I started hearing the sounds of my new camera taking shots. My eyes flew open afraid that Seth was taking a picture of me in my current state, and was relieved to see the lens focused on the condo behind us. He took a few more shots of the view and then laid back down. We stayed there quite a while. I opened my eyes a few minutes later and stole a glance at Seth to find that he was staring at me. A few more minutes later I looked again to find he was staring again.

"So, have you been staring at me this whole time or do I just happen to catch you looking my way when I open my eyes."

He cleared his throat and delayed before he finally admitted that he was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of me. I was a little surprised when my reaction wasn't my typical embarrassment, but rather a sly triumphant smile. I made a mental note that I needed to thank Rosalie later. I was definitely getting more and more comfortable around Seth…that was for sure. I couldn't imagine anybody else on the planet that I would be this relaxed with in this ensemble.

"You feel like going for a swim?" I finally asked through my smile, feeling ever so slightly braver knowing that I was distracting Seth.

"Sure!" He said sitting up suddenly. I slowly stood up and unbuttoned my shorts sliding them down my hips and picked them up to put them on the chair. When I looked up Seth was gone, already in the water and swimming full speed out into the deeper area. I frowned slightly and then kicked off my sandals and made my way through the hot sand to the shallow waves cresting on the shore. I stepped in squealing as the first wave to hit my legs felt unexpectedly chilly. Well what did I expect it was only April 30th. I took another step in and then another, squealing with every cold wave that washed higher on my body. I looked up to see where Seth was and saw him standing in chest high water about six feet out laughing at me.

"Seth Clearwater…what are you doing?" He just stood there smiling. "Get over here!" He didn't move.

I finally threw up my hands. "Fine! If you're not going to come spend time with me then I'm just going to go back to the house and get cleaned up!" Suddenly he was splashing in the water toward me. I took a few more steps to meet him where the water was just above my waist.

He swam up to stand in front of me, a good seven inches taller than me and just stood there quietly looking down at me with a peculiar expression I hadn't seen before and couldn't name. "What on earth is up with you?"

"I wanted a good view of you coming out into the water. I'm thinking I need to thank Rosalie. Angel you look incredible!" I'd never seen him like this before. I couldn't help but laugh and he joined me, but he was still acting strange.

I finally decided we needed to break the tension some more so I suddenly reached over and splashed him in the face. He laughed and began to splash back. Unfortunately he was stronger and had better leverage completely soaking me with his first good splash. We splashed back and forth slowly working our way into deeper water that came to just below my chest. In an attempt to finally get him a little more wet than me, I jumped up and tried to dunk him, but he was too strong, pushing me under instead. While under water I utilized my advantage by rubbing his leg lightly and then quickly taking out his knees sending him crashing backward into the water.

When I came back up pushing my hair back from my face and laughing he finally reached over and pulled me closer in the water holding me against his body as he pulled us into slightly deeper water kissing me softly on the lips. He pulled me up into a bridal type carry and turned me around and around in the water as I lay back letting the water run over me. It was so relaxing and peaceful. When I finally pulled myself back up to look at him he had a sweet smile. He reached over and kissed me again with a little more passion. I pulled my legs free of his arms and turned facing him, wrapping my legs around his waist. We stayed there for the next twenty minutes lost in our little world, enjoying the weightlessness of the water.

Finally when my hands started to get pruney, he spun me around to ride on his back and started to carry me up to the shore and all the way to our chairs before sitting me down. I grabbed the towel and wrapped it around myself, drying as thoroughly as I could so I could put back on my shorts and Seth's shirt. We slowly made our way back up to the condo dragging our beach chairs behind us and I made my way immediately back up to the bathroom to get a nice long hot shower. I went to my suitcase afterward picking out a nice comfortable outfit for site seeing and a pair of comfortable sneakers and made my way back downstairs.

We had a quick lunch before Seth called a taxi and we spent the rest of the day touring the sites of Hollywood. We went to the walk of fame and to see the footprints in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater. Then we took a meandering drive past Rodeo drive on our way to Universal Studios. I laughed thinking of how deprived poor Alice must feel knowing that some of the best shopping in the states happened to be located in one of the sunniest places as well. At Universal Studios we rode the rides and toured the back lot and grabbed supper on the Universal City Walk on our way back out to grab another Taxi back to the condo.

We walked through the living room on our way to deposit our bags upstairs when I noticed a movement from the corner of my eye on the back deck of the condo. I turned and screamed seeing that was somebody standing on the back deck looking out to the Beach. Having heard my scream the dark figure turned and smiled and I heard a growl escape from Seth.

_**Author's Note: A special thanks to my Beta Reader, Mel. She helped me fix a few bad word choices and rewrite the last paragraph. You rock Mel! Please remember to Read and Review!**_


	4. The Last Surprise

**_Author's Note: First I want to answer the question from "The Curious Yet Silent Admirer" since I can't send you a message, I'll do it here. Thank you for reviewing and in answer to your question, at this point I'm hoping to get the story out in two volumes, but then again, I never expected going in for it to be long enough to need two volumes, but the story took on a life of it's own and before I knew it I was up to 57 chapters…so who knows! LOL. But as of now I'm thinking it will just be 2 volumes._**

_**On another note, I really hope that my cliffhanger doesn't disappoint. Everyone's mind immediately went in one direction, so I hope this doesn't disappoint you guys too much…I guess we'll see.**_

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**4. The Last Surprise**

_We walked through the living room on our way to deposit our bags upstairs when I noticed a movement from the corner of my eye on the back deck of the condo. I turned and screamed seeing that was somebody standing on the back deck looking out to the Beach. Having heard my scream the dark figure turned and smiled and I heard a growl escape from Seth. _

The sound of his growl sent another chill down my spine. I had never actually heard Seth growl before, well not in a menacing way at least, and the thought that whoever was waiting outside brought forth that reaction terrified me. I tensed my body preparing to react when Seth's next actions surprised me.

Seth sat down his bags on the couch and walked over to the sliding glass door opening it and addressing the figure on the deck with a tone of annoyance.

"What the hell are you trying to do? Give her a heart attack? You're twelve hours early by the way."

I stared out toward the night in confusion, straining to make out who this dark figure was that Seth was addressing with such familiarity. Just then Seth flipped on the floodlights that illuminated the back deck and my body relaxed. The long raven hair of my soon to be sister in law waved slowly in the breeze as she smiled over at me apologetically from her spot on the deck.

"Sorry Lina. I didn't mean to scare you."

A smile spread across my face as a combination of relief and understanding washed over me. I threw my bags down on the couch next to the ones Seth had been carrying and ran out to the deck to give Leah a hug. I hadn't seen her since New Year's Day when we all loaded up Seth's belongings for the drive back east, but we had begun a slow building, yet deepening friendship in the months following our visit to Washington.

"Oh my goodness, Leah! What are you doing here?"

Seth stepped behind me wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my cheek. "She was one last surprise for the weekend for you," he whispered sweetly into my ear with a gentle kiss on my shoulder and then turned to her with a bit of annoyance as he finished, "but technically she wasn't supposed to get here until tomorrow morning."

"Sorry, I was going stir crazy and desperate for some sunshine, so I left a day early. Plus I was excited to see Lina." She said with a smile.

"Oh no, this is awesome! I'm glad you came early!" I grabbed Seth's hand from around my waist and reached forward to grab Leah's hand and led them both to the patio table so we could sit and talk.

After a while the ocean breeze got chilly so we moved inside. We talked all night, laughing and joking and simply enjoying spending time together. I was glad that the three of us were able to hang out comfortably. It made me feel better about stealing Seth away from her and I felt like I could spend time with her and not take away from her ability to have bonding time with Seth as well. Before we knew it the sun began to rise in the east casting long shadows across the sandy beach and reflecting it's orange and gold rays across the glistening ocean surf below.

We worked together to prepare a nice pancake breakfast and returned to the deck to eat in the now warming glow of the sun. The three of us sat eating and laughing and I couldn't pull my eyes away from Leah. She was so different here, so…happy and relaxed. I had never seen Leah be either of those things before. It was nice and it made her already beautiful face absolutely breathtaking. I looked at her and all I could think is that she really deserved to be happy like this all of the time. I wished that she could find the peace she was looking for that would allow her to embrace this mood all of the time.

After we went back in and cleaned up our mess in the kitchen and did the dishes we decided that it would be fun to go back out on the beach again today. I put back on the beach outfit I had worn the day before with a wee bit more trepidation knowing that I would be in the presence of someone besides Seth.

We walked with Leah up and down the beach allowing the low surf to come up and wash over our feet. The water seemed a bit warmer today as it swirled and circled around my bare legs and feet before pulling back out leaving wet compacted sand and shells in it's wake. I stopped and leaned down to pick up a particularly impressive conch shell that was sitting on the dark wet sand and examined it allowing them to walk ahead of me. I thought it was an opportunity to give them some alone time to talk. I looked around collecting a few more shells looking up when I heard my name. I laughed at their faces seeing that they had made it a good fifty feet away from me before they realized I was missing. They waved for me to catch up as I laid the shells at me feet and untied  
Seth's shirt from around my waist, refastening the lower buttons and then holding it up in front of me like an apron as I placed my discovered treasures there to carry back up to the condo. I walked quickly to catch up and they teased me about my shell collecting.

When we got back to the condo I ran inside to wash out the shells and lay them out on a towel on the counter before unbuttoning the lower buttons again and tying the long sides of the shirt back up around my waist. I slowly made my way back out to join Seth and Leah. They had already pulled three of the lounge chairs out near the water and were settled down talking excitedly. I walked up to find they were arguing.

"You did not! I was the one who found that present for Dad. Remember? We were walking through the mall and I saw it through the window." Leah said animatedly.

My brow furrowed as I realized that they were talking about their Dad. Seth never really wanted to talk about his Dad with me. We discussed it one night during one of our many heart to hearts, but never since.

"No, I found it first and took you to the store to see it. You looked at it through the window and liked it too so we bought it." Seth replied.

"No, that's not how it happened!" My laugh made them both turn around in surprise. They had been so busy arguing that they hadn't even noticed with their super wolf hearing that I was coming up behind them.

"You two are so funny! You sound like Nessie and I used to when we were both little!"

Seth smiled up at me and then reached out for my hand pulling me to sit on his lap and giving me a kiss. After a few minutes I moved to my lounge chair and stretched out in the warm sun. I listened to them as the continued to argue as I slowly drifted off to sleep in the nice relaxing breeze and warm sunshine.

The next thing I knew I woke up to the sensation of movement. I realized that Seth had picked me up in his arms and was carrying me up toward the condo. I picked my head up and told him that I was awake and I could walk, but he simply kissed my cheek and told me to go back to sleep as he reached the deck and carried me through the open door. He carried me up the stairs and laid me on the bed gently and went to close the Venetian blinds. Then he came back sitting on the edge of the bed as he stroked my hair gently and kissed my head again. Before I knew it, I was back in dreamland.

The next time awoke it was to find Seth snuggled up to my back with his arm curled around my waist. I looked over at the alarm clock to see it was four in the afternoon. I felt really bad for sleeping a chunk of the day away and wondered if Leah had chosen to take a nap too. I had hoped she did since Seth was here with me, but I wanted to check and make sure. I slowly picked up Seth's arm and lifted it off of my waist as I slid out from my space next to him. He groaned and his arm searched where I had been for a second in his sleep, but thankfully I hadn't awoken him.

I tiptoed my way down the hall hoping that I wouldn't wake Leah if she were sleeping too and went downstairs to see if she was there. The lower level was empty. I felt my stomach rumble and realized that I had slept through lunch. I made my way over to the fridge and assembled myself a cold cut sandwich and grabbed a tall bottle of water, making my way out the deck to soak up more of the last few hours of California I could before heading home. That's when I realized that it was Sunday and that we were supposed to be going home today. I had school tomorrow, but Seth never mentioned anything about leaving or packing up or anything. Just then my cell phone rang in my pocket and I saw it was Alice.

"Hello Alice" I said with a smile.

"Hello Lina, are you having a nice time?"

"Why yes I am little miss sneaky pants. I'm not sure if I want to kill you and Rose or hug you! Tell Rose that the bikini was a big hit."

"Yeah, I saw you going in the water laughing. I'm glad you decided to wear it and actually went in. I'm proud of you."

"Yeah, yeah…if anybody else had been around there's no way I would have ever taken off Seth's shirt much less the shorts…but it was Seth. It's not like he hasn't seen my chest before, so I figured why not. Wait a second…I was out there with Seth, how did you see me?"

"He was under strict orders to get way out in the water if you were going in so I could see it."

I just shook my head, "You guys! Hey wait! He lied…he said he just wanted a better view to watch me from! He's in trouble now!"

"Well, I'm sure it wasn't a lie. I saw your expression…you were eating up his gazes and don't even try to deny it."

"Okay, you got me. He still lied through omission."

"Oh give the guy a break. He was doing it as a favor to me and probably knew you'd run right back inside and hide if he told you that part." I shrugged figuring she was right and decided to drop it.

"Hey Al, I have another question…I'm confused, I figured we'd have to be heading home today but Seth hasn't said anything about packing or leaving yet. Do you know what's up?"

"You mean he didn't tell you that we got you out of school Monday too? Silly Boy. You guys aren't coming home until tomorrow morning, so just enjoy your last day and hanging out with Leah and don't worry about the logistics sweetie. He has it all covered."

"Thanks Alice. How's everything else back home?"

"Same old, same old."

"Well, tell everyone I said hi and I love them and I miss them okay?"

"Like they don't already know that…"

"Well, still, just in case." I replied with a wide smile.

"Okay, your future just faded so I'm guessing that one of them will be waking up soon. Have fun. Love you Lina!"

"Love you too Alice. Thanks!"

Just as I hung up the phone Leah came sauntering out the back door. She stretched and looked out over the ocean. "It's beautiful here. Why can't the beaches back home be like this?" She said through her stretch.

"Yeah, don't you just wish you could take it home with you?"

She laughed and then sat down next to me in at the patio table.

"So, how are you two doing? Things seem to be going well. Is everything as rosy as Seth paints them to be?"

"Things have been amazing! He's so wonderful! I never knew it was possible to feel like this about somebody." I said taking a long swig of my water. "I just wish we didn't have to wait so long before we can be together." I froze with the admission. I hadn't planned on actually saying that, it just sort of slipped out.

"You mean married?"

"Well, that and…other things." I said with a blush as my eyes darted down to the table in embarrassment that I was talking about this at all…much less with Seth's sister.

"Wait, you guys still haven't?"

"No, I mean we do some things, but we keep it above the waist."

"Wow! Man! I didn't realize. That must be tough. But why? I mean you guys are engaged."

"We sort of promised each other the day that he imprinted and we got carried away with the making out the very first time that we'd wait until I turned eighteen. We figured it made sense because technically then it would be legal, but OH MY GOD it's so much harder to stick to than I had imagined! We've been taking things really slow! Sometimes it drives me so crazy and I know it has to be the same for him, not that he ever complains."

"Wow, well, Seth is big on the whole promise thing. He's definitely a 'my word is my bond' type of guy. No matter how tough it gets, he's going to stick by his promise. That's just Seth."

"Yeah, I know. That's why my parents let us come alone. They've been so impressed by him…and it really is him because if it were up to me, I don't think we'd ever lasted this long!" I replied with a dark chuckle taking another drink of my water.

She laughed. "Well, you've got a long year ahead of you, but it'll be worth it in the end. It's better to wait sometimes. You know the anticipation is sometimes the hottest part!"

I blushed a deep crimson. I was so uncomfortable talking about my sex life, or lack thereof, with my fiancée's sister. But at the same time we were getting to be friends and friends share this kind of stuff…right? Just about the time that I was going to find an excuse to go back inside in order to stave off more conversation on the topic Leah changed the subject.

We sat for another hour just talking out on the deck and relaxing in the warm sun. Finally seeing the time, I decided to go check on Seth and look into what we could do for supper. I made my way back up the stairs to find Seth still lying in the same position I had left him in just over an hour ago. I gently sat on the edge of the bed and watched my precious Seth sleep. He was so adorable when he slept, his face so peaceful and serene, his adorable lips looked so kissable, I just couldn't resist their lure. I slowly leaned down reaching over to caress his lips with my own as lightly as possible. To my great pleasure he smiled in his sleep and whispered my name, so I did it again. His smile was wider this time, so much so that I thought he was awake, but his limbs stayed limp and his eyes remained closed. "I love you Angel." He whispered again. I couldn't stand it anymore. I knew I was going to wake him up, but I had to kiss him, had to feel his arms around me kissing me back, I picked up his arm laying myself under it facing him and took his face in my hands licking his lower lip as I kissed him, parting his lips in order to share his breath. I was thrilled when his arm tightened around my back pulling me in to him and returning my kiss with fervor.

Finally he pulled away licking his lips and sighing. "Now that's the way to wake up! I was dreaming of you." He added with a sly smile.

"Oh yeah, what were you dreaming?"

He blushed slightly before he answered, "Let's just as it was a really good dream and leave it at that."

"Seth Clearwater…are you telling me that your dream version of me is getting all the action?" I replied with a giggle.

Without skipping a beat he smiled and shot back, "What and your dream version of me is a monk?"

I laughed out loud as he tickled my sides. When we calmed back down I asked about his nap and if he had any preset plans for supper. After discussing it a while we decided to take Leah to the Beverly Center mall to bum around and grab supper there. We called a taxi and spent the rest of the evening shopping, stopping to have supper at the California Pizza Kitchen. They had the most unique pizzas I had ever heard of. I tried the roasted garlic chicken pizza and was pleasantly surprised. It was a wee bit pricey, but delicious. Poor Seth was such a good sport. He walked along and joked and talked with us, patiently waiting as we poured through the sales rack. I had to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed shopping with Leah. It was a relaxing equal footing situation, unlike shopping with Alice and Rose and being constantly shoved in to try on things I would never in a million years wear. After a few hours we made our way back to the condo taking time to pack our bags and clean up our things before making our way to bed.

I lay with Seth that night, curled up in his comforting heat as he slept peacefully with me in his arms, and wished hopefully for the future. I had loved being here with him this weekend, on our own, just the two of us. It made me think of what life would be like someday when we were married and could live together on our own. I knew now that it was going to be necessary for us to move on shortly after we were married, if for nothing more than Edward and Jasper's sanity. Besides eventually we were going to need to put down solid roots. We couldn't constantly move with my family forever. I marveled over where we would end up, what kind of house we would live in, what our kids might look like. Almost as though he could hear my thoughts Seth woke up and leaned over kissing me as he sighed into my mouth.

"I can't wait until we can lay like this every night. That's the bad part about going away with you, I find it harder and harder to take you back home again!"

"Yeah, I know. Considering that our house is still close enough that Edward can hear everything we're thinking, you'd think they'd give in eventually on the whole sleeping arrangements thing. It would make life so much easier if I could just live there with you."

"In some ways…not so much in others." He said with a sad edge to his voice. I could tell that he was thinking of his promise. I loved that he was such an honorable man. Sure some days I wish he weren't quite SO honorable, but at the end of the day I knew it was a major part of who he was and what I loved about him. I ran my fingers through his thick dark hair and placed a gently appreciative kiss on his lips.

"Yes it would. We'll survive with current arrangements…for now at least." I smiled at him in the dark and then kissed him once more before curling my head into the perfect space of his neck and drifting off into much needed sleep.


	5. Humiliation and Healing

**_Author's Note: Okay, so I got a review from someone who was surprised that Leah got over her grudge with Lina so quickly so I thought I'd share my thoughts on why I went that direction with it instead of dragging out the grudge longer. In my mind it wasn't really Lina she hated, but more the universe for being so unfair in seeing yet another pack member and not only that, but her own brother imprint and then his natural instinct to move to be with Lina. I felt like even over Stephenie's books that Seth was the one person in the world that she really and truly loved unconditionally, the one person that she could maybe not hold a grudge with forever, and once she spent that day with Seth and really got to experience how he was feeling, she realized that she was happy for him and even though she was jealous, she loved her brother too much to begrudge him happiness…so she forgave him and started to forgive Lina. Then when she met Lina at the bonfire and Lina showed her such kindness and encouragement, it softened her heart a little more. After they left Washington, Lina started to call her and communicate with and made sure that Seth was still a regular part of Leah's life, which resulted in Leah starting to have a genuine friendship with Lina that eventually led to the events of chapter 4. Does that make sense? I guess technically it doesn't have to since it's all a figment of my imagination, but I just wanted to share my thoughts and see if it helped anyone who was confused to see where I was coming from._**

**_Thanks again for your reviews! You guys are awesome! _**

**_And special thanks to my beta Mel for saving me from my spelling/grammar errors and overuse of sloppy American slang again!_**

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**5. Humiliation and Healing**

We left early the next morning. I hated to leave Leah, but we had made arrangements for her to come visit us over the summer, so I tried to cling to that as we said our goodbyes. Originally she was thinking she'd just stay a couple of weeks, but after she and I had begun to develop a pretty good friendship she decided to stay for the whole month of July. I was really looking forward to having her visit over the summer.

Our trip home was uneventful. We were welcomed home to a very relieved and happy family. As soon as we walked in the door I could tell that Edward was evaluating. He couldn't help it, between the habits that came along with his gift and his paternal feelings toward me…how could he not? He eyed us a few seconds cringing a couple of times at the images that reflexively flashed through my mind when I realized what he was looking for. _Oops...sorry Edward._ I told him in my mind, and then he smiled and relaxed. Obviously satisfied that Seth and I were still in the same place in our romantic relationship that we had been when we left.

I dug out the presents I had collected for everyone while on my trip. I had found cool little bottles at the mall that I purchased and had filled with sand before we left that morning. There was one for each of my family members and in each one I chose a shell from my collection that I thought was most like them and placed it on top of the sand. I was very happy to see how pleased they were at my simple and possibly inane gifts, but to be honest what was I supposed to bring home to the insanely rich people who spoiled me? Mickey Mouse ears? A Map of the Star's homes? An "I heart LA" T-shirt? No way…I had to be creative.

After that they wanted to see the pictures we had taken so Edward took my new camera and plugged it directly into the huge plasma TV in the living room as everyone gathered around to watch the slide show of our trip. I was already missing California as shots of the beach and the condo flashed on the screen to the oohs and aahs of my family. In each one I could still remember the feel of the air or the sounds surrounding us when it was taken. The next one surprised me. I was standing on the deck gazing out toward the northern spur of the beach wearing my jean shorts and Seth's Hawaiian shirt with the bottom cinched up and tied around my waist with my hair blowing behind me in the wind, appearing to be lost in thought. It almost looked like some kind of picture you would see in an art gallery fading to a Sepia color with a lame title like "Girl in Thought". I smiled a small smile thinking that I actually did look surprisingly comfortable and confident that day as the show moved on and a few more scenery pictures flashed by. Then one of the Seth and I on the beach came up that we had asked one of the few beach inhabitants to take for us. Suddenly Seth jumped up like he remembered something and tried to get to the camera just in time for one more picture to pop up on the screen. My eyes bulged, my face turned ten shades of red, and my mouth dropped open as though someone had taken it off its hinge.

"Oh MY God! I'm blind!" Emmett yelled from the far side of the room covering his eyes.

There was silence for the longest time and the slideshow continued on before I finally turned to Seth. For the first time since we had been together I was angry, no angry wasn't enough, I was livid.

"Seth Harrison Clearwater! You DID take a picture of me wearing that bikini on the beach!!! And then you LET MY FAMILY SEE IT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Tears filled my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. The tears weren't from sadness but more a combination of anger and humiliation.

"Angel, I'm sorry. I forgot it was on there! I couldn't help myself…you looked so amazing! I was hoping you'd see it later and finally see what I saw. I'm so sorry! I totally forgot about it until it was too late. Oh baby, please don't cry." He said reaching out to touch my arm in a comforting gesture. I was so angry I couldn't even hear what he was saying; I just knew he was trying to comfort me. I heard his last line and then I struck back.

"These are ANGRY tears, not sad tears." I yelled as I shrugged off his hand and ran up the stairs to my room. _So long happy birthday trip euphoria._

Just before I was out of earshot I heard Emmett's voice, "See Rose, told you the bikini was a bad idea!"

I ran to the bed and threw myself on it still in tears, completely and totally mortified. It was hard enough for me to be around Seth, who has actually seen me with far less on the top half of my body, in that thing…much less my family! I couldn't believe this was happening.

A few minutes later there was a soft knock on the door. My mother, Alice, Rose, and Bella came in when I gave permission and sat around me on the bed. My mother stroked my hair gently.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" She asked gently.

"NO! How could he do that Mom? How could he have been so STUPID?"

"Oh honey, he did it with the best of intentions. You know Seth is pretty perfect most of the time, but he IS human sweetheart. He's going to make mistakes. Yes, this was a doozie, but you know Seth would never do that on purpose."

"I know that Mom, but he _knows_ how uncomfortable I am about those things. I don't know why he ever took it in the first place."

"Because you looked gorgeous!" Rosalie piped up from the end of the bed. "Seriously Lina, you looked amazing. He just wanted you to be able to see it for yourself."

I rolled my eyes at her. I saw that humongous picture of me on the screen. That was not my definition of gorgeous!

"Lina, I'm sorry. I should have packed a second swimsuit for you. I knew you wouldn't wear the one Rose got you, however I really wanted you to find out that you could wear things like that. It's all my fault" Alice added ruefully. "And I shouldn't have done that to you with the dress either. I just wanted to try and force you to see that you looked good in dresses like that one too. It wasn't right."

I took in a deep breath and sighed. Now that I had a little distance from the humiliation of the whole event I was feeling a little better. I asked if Seth was still here and they said that he wanted to come up and talk to me but they insisted on coming first and sent him home for a while so I could cool off. I thanked them for talking to me and told Alice and Rose not to beat themselves up so much. The truth was that I did sort of enjoy wearing the dress after the initial embarrassment wore off. If I were totally honest with myself, I enjoyed seeing Seth's reactions to the swimsuit too. They all left with the exception of Bella who came to sit next to me.

"Are you really okay?" She asked pulling my hair back over my shoulder and tucking it behind my ear.

I shrugged. I was getting there, but I was still really not looking forward to facing any of my brothers or my father. It was one thing for the girls to see, but totally another thing for the boys. Especially when I knew Emmett, and I'm sure the rest of the guys also, had been having a hard time adjusting to the idea that I was no longer a kid.

"I know how you feel. It's faint, but I remember a certain prom dress that Alice forced me into once upon a time that made me feel exposed, and it had a hell of a lot more material on it than the bikini. You're like me in so many ways Lina. You have the same self-deprecating spirit that I had, or at least Edward tells me that I had. Here's the thing you have to understand, it's okay to grow up and become a woman and you shouldn't have to hide that fact just because you have five times the normal number of father figures around who aren't ready to deal with it yet. You're beautiful and you shouldn't be ashamed of it. What you were wearing in that picture was actually not as bad as you think. Compared to some of the bikinis out there it was very modest. I know you don't see it because it's just not your style to dress that way, but you weren't in any way inappropriate. So even though it's hard, try not to be too embarrassed by it okay? And give Seth a break…I really think he did have the best intentions."

I looked down at my fingers fidgeting with a piece of the bedspread through Bella's whole talk, but when she finished I stole a sideways glance at her out of the corner of my eyes and gave her a crooked smile.

"Thanks Bella"

She stood up and made her way to the door smiling at me as she walked out closing it behind her. I sat there a while longer, fidgeting with the shells that I had left over after making my family gifts this morning. I had three left that I had kept for Seth and myself, the conch shell, an oyster half shell with a beautiful iridescent blue glow with streaks of purple inside, and another colorful rounded shell. I rolled them in my hands as I thought about the events of the afternoon. I was exhausted, it had been a long trip and the emotional exhaustion of what had just happened had drained me, but I couldn't go to sleep without talking to Seth.

I got up taking my shells with me and went downstairs. To my relief, the males of the household had all gone hunting, most likely at my mother's suggestion, to give me a little space. I walked through to the back door throwing a small smile to my mother and sisters as I passed them and down the trail to Seth's house.

When Seth first moved in I used to always knock on the door before walking in, but after the tenth time that he insisted it was my home too and I didn't need to knock I had gotten out of the habit, but today I chose to knock softly just to warn him I was coming. I opened the door gently and called out his name. He was nowhere to be found. I stopped at the counter in front of one of the barstools and laid my shells carefully there before slowly walking upstairs. I checked the office as I passed and then found him in the bathroom in front of the mirror wet from a shower with a towel around his waist. His head shot up as I walked into the doorway and I instantly blushed.

"Sorry, you want me to come back later?"

"No, no, please…stay. I want to talk to you." He begged grabbing my hand and pulling me in to stand with him in the bathroom.

"I'm sor-" we both started at once and then we started to laugh a little. I hopped up on the white and gray marble countertop by the sink scooting back so that my knees bent at the end of the counter and feet were dangling bouncing off the cabinet doors below and handed him his comb. His hair was still a ruffled mess from his attempts to towel dry it. He ran the comb through his hair absentmindedly and then put the comb down.

"Please, let me go first." I nodded and he came to stand in front of me spreading my knees just far enough that his hips would fit between them with his hands on my thighs. "I'm so sorry sweetheart. It was so stupid." He said closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I knew how you felt, and I shouldn't have taken that stupid picture in the first place. It's a stupid excuse now, but I really wanted to be able to show it to you a little down the road in the hopes that you would see what I see. I never even thought about it when we started the slideshow…not until I saw the picture before it of the two of us on the beach and then I knew what was coming next but I wasn't fast enough. I knew you'd be so embarrassed, I'm so sorry my Angel." He finished leaning forward to put his forehead to mine with such a pained expression on his face that it broke my heart.

I reached my hand up and ran it across his temple and down through the back of his damp hair and then I leaned back slightly and placed a kiss on his forehead. "I'm sorry too. I guess I over reacted just a bit. I just felt _so_ humiliated!"

He looked up at me shaking his head, "No baby, you had EVERY RIGHT IN THE WORLD to be mad at me. I don't blame you for your reaction. I just wish it hadn't happened."

I snaked my arms around his neck and leaned forward to hug him to my chest kissing him on the top of his head. "You're only human sweetheart. You're going to make the occasional mistake. Considering all the mistakes that could possibly be made in a relationship, this was a pretty minor one. It's okay. I'll get over it. Now Edward, Emmett, Jasper, Jake, and my Dad…they might not forgive you so easily." I chuckled. "I think you damaged Emmett for life!"

He laughed too leaning forward to kiss me. We exchanged a few short kisses and then I let him go get dressed and I hopped down off the counter and made my way downstairs. It wasn't until I reached the ground floor and sat down on the couch to wait for him that I realized that we had that whole conversation while he was wearing nothing but a towel. I laughed at how much things had changed for us, the memory of that first day in Washington at the house Seth shared with Leah rushed into my mind.

_My shock at the sight of him dripping wet with a towel around his waist, my eyes taking in the incredibly sexy way that his muscles moved under his skin as he dried his hair with the towel…resisting the temptation to run and jump into his arms…sitting on the couch trying to decide what to do…going to the door to knock only to have Seth open it wearing nothing but his jeans…Seth pulling me into one of our first hormone crazed mind blowing kisses as I wrapped my legs around him as he twirled with me to his bed…exploring each other's necks and shoulders with urgency…my heart pounding so hard in my chest that it felt like it would jump right out…fighting to pull myself out of his embrace after hearing the sound of a closing car door outside.._

I shook my head thinking about how irresistible the draw of his bare chest had been upon seeing it for the very first time. It was still a sight to behold, but with the evolution of our physical relationship we had become comfortable enough with one another that it didn't have the power to overrule the need to heal our emotional relationship. I smiled and got up to go over to the counter picking up the shells that I had placed there and returned to my place on the couch. I was still turning them over and over in my hand when Seth came down and sat next to me, looking over at me with a concerned expression.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"I was just thinking about you and me and these shells. You know how I picked out special shells for everyone for presents that remind me of them somehow?" He shook his head in acknowledgement. "Well, I saved this one because it reminds me of you." I gently placed the oyster shell in his hand.

He turned it over and studied it and then looked up for an explanation. "Okay, well, first of all you're beautiful like this shell. The outside has a nice color and texture," I said showing him the outside of the shell, "but you're even far more beautiful on the inside." I whispered flipping it to show him the iridescent interior with its blue sheen and purple streaks. I looked at his eyes to see tears collecting on the lower rim as he turned the shell over and over to study it. I looked back down at the shell as I continued, "But it's more than that. There are millions of oysters in the sea, but some are special, some just happen to get lucky enough that God places a tiny piece of sand inside them and that oyster takes that sand and ends up turning it into a beautiful pearl. A beautiful, rare pearl, coming from a plain regular piece of sand." I looked back up to his eyes, now my own also full of tears. "That's you and me. You have taken me inside of your heart, a plain boring piece of sand, and in so doing, you've created this amazing thing that we have together. It's so much better than I could ever have imagined."

He grabbed me into a strong warm embrace and I could feel his tears mingle with my own as we held each other cheek to cheek. We stayed that way for a while and then I pulled back taking his face in my hands as I finished up my little speech.

"I love you so much, and so what if you made some stupid mistake taking some stupid picture that my family saw of me in a bikini. The guys can just get over it. I love you, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you and I are special and I have a feeling that with time we're just going to keep getting better."

He leaned forward and kissed my lips before he pulled back and whispered, "I love you so much. Do you even know how amazing you are? You say this shell reminds you of me. I feel EXACTLY the same way about you. Every word you said could have been practically scripted word for word from what I've told Leah and the pack. I mean, I didn't have the oyster shell to compare you to, but the basic concept is there. But you have it all wrong…I'm the sand, not you."

I shot him a crooked smile and shook my head and pulled him in for another long kiss. We snuggled together on the sofa, the exhaustion of the long and stressful day overtaking our stamina. I hadn't even realized I had fallen asleep until I felt Seth shift our position so that we were lying down together with my head resting on his chest. I quickly drifted off into peaceful sleep again knowing that all was forgiven.

I woke up the next morning in my bed in the main house with my alarm clock blaring at me from across the room. I blinked around confused, my eyes still bleary from sleep. In my exhausted state, Seth must have once again carried me back home without my even knowing it. I stretched and groaned not wanting to go back to the everyday humdrum of school. I dragged myself out of bed, got cleaned up and made my way downstairs. My north star was there making me breakfast just like he does every morning before school.

"Good morning Angel! How did you sleep?"

"Like I was dead to the world. How the heck do I keep sleeping through you carrying me between houses?" I growled with a frown wishing he had kept me at our house instead of bringing me home.

He laughed, "It's really not that hard when you pass out as completely as you did last night. I tried for ten minutes to wake you up and you didn't budge, so I finally carried you home. You're cute when you sleep so soundly." He said leaning forward and kissing my nose.

We ate French toast and fruit together before Seth walked me to my car and waved me off to school. Over the past few months I had grown used to leaving him, although it never felt _good_, it wasn't painful at least, but this morning was harder again. I drove off toward the big brick prison already in a foul mood from having to leave my escape from the world with Seth and return to real life.


	6. The Most Amazing Surprise Yet!

**6. The Most Amazing Surprise Yet!**

After the beautiful sunny days of California, the dreary overcast sky of our hometown was unbearably depressing. I drove up to the school in a funk. The last place I wanted to be today was here. I begrudgingly pulled myself out of the car and stalked up to the school making my way to my locker. I jerked it open, attempting to expend my annoyance on as many inanimate objects as possible before I ran into my friends. I grabbed my books for my first class, taking a few minutes to stare at the numerous pictures of Seth and I that littered the inside of the locker door with a sigh and then closed it slightly more gently and made my way to join my friends in the commons.

"Hey crazy girl! How does it feel to be seventeen?" Leighton called to me as I approached the table full of my friends and the snot squad.

"Kind of like sixteen but with a seven in front?" I answered back sarcastically.

"So did that _fiancée _of yours do something really awesome for you? Well he better after tying you down at sixteen!"

My friends didn't really react very well to the news of our engagement. I had come back to school sporting a one-carat nearly flawless heart shaped solitaire engagement ring, which was met with shocked and confused faces.

"What the hell? Are you insane? You're sixteen years old and you guys just got together a couple of months ago…how exactly do you get engaged in just a few months? Are you pregnant?"

I immediately denied the pregnancy assumption and beyond that I didn't really have any great answers for them other than 'when you know it's meant to be you know' and that 'it's been coming for a long time, we started out as best friends first and that's the best place to start,' but it wasn't enough to appease them. From that point on I was pretty much known as crazy girl although a few more colorful nicknames were tossed around first, but then dismissed over time. I couldn't say I could blame them. If I weren't the one who had found her soul mate and had lived through the incredible past six months, I would have been right there with them shaking my head and leading the rant.

"It was amazing actually. He took me to Los Angeles for the weekend."

Every mouth at the table unhinged as they stared at me. Suddenly I wasn't in such a bad mood. I was going to enjoy this day much more than I had anticipated.

"Did you just say he took you to California for the weekend?" Leighton finally questioned through her shock.

"Yep." I responded glowing with a wide smile.

"Alone?" Malia chimed in.

"Yep…my family trusts us." I said with a shrug. To this answer I got a lot of narrowed looks. Nobody really believed that we weren't sleeping together, well I guess we do sleep together, but not in the sense that they were thinking.

I spent the next ten minutes before class answering questions and telling them all about our trip and showing off my locket that I displayed prominently above the v-neck sweater I had worn for that exact purpose. They were amazed that I had actually met a real movie director and his wife and had even been offered a chance to read for a role. They were even more shocked at the news that I had turned down the opportunity. They really just didn't understand me at all. I guess nobody really did besides Seth and my family. How could anybody outside of the strange and wacky world of vampires and werewolves understand the thought processes of someone raised around them? We wrapped up the conversation and I promised to bring my camera to lunch so I could share pictures of our time away. I had asked Seth to make sure that all the pictures had been saved on his hard drive before I left for school and that the offending picture had been deleted so I could bring my camera to school today for a little lunchtime show and tell.

Leighton cornered me before English to get more details and again during Sociology. I was pleased that we had a sub in Trig and it was a free day, so Connor and I got a chance to talk and tell him all about the trip. He listened to me with a wide smile. It's ironic that my former boyfriend was the most supportive of my young love and early engagement. Of course of all of the people in this school, he could relate most to the type of love that I had for Seth. I remembered all too well Nessie's replay of our breakup and Jasper's running commentary as we talked on the porch that Connor loved Leighton nearly as intensely as they loved their mates. If he had the opportunity, I had a feeling he would ask Leighton to marry him in an instant. I told him all about the events of the weekend, including Leah's impending trip in the summer and told him that my family was planning on having a big Independence day barbecue at our house to make up for the fact that they didn't get to throw me a big birthday bash this year. I had already arranged with Emmett and Jasper to wrangle some professional grade fireworks to set off that evening and planned to invite all of my friends from school and my family of course. He said he'd be there with bells on.

Sociology was thankfully not a free day, so I didn't get another intensive grilling during class, but the second class was over I was in for another twenty questions. I took my camera to lunch sharing most of the pictures from our trip and telling them more about Leah and what it was like to eat at the swanky restaurant and join the director and his wife for "drinks". They soaked my stories up eagerly. Connor was especially impressed with Leah. I had to stifle a chuckle thinking how if he caught her on the wrong day she'd chew him up and spit him out in a second, but I held it in and told him that if he came to the party he'd be sure to meet her.

I finally made it through the rest of my day, happy to be heading back home to spend some quality time with my whole family. I pulled into the drive and walked into the house to find that the atmosphere was tense. I walked toward the living room overhearing a discussion about possible outcomes and ways that they should proceed with the situation. I still hadn't heard what "the situation" was. I walked the rest of the way into the living room that contained all the members of my family including Jake, Nessie, and Seth. Everyone was staring at Nessie with a very concerned look on their faces and Nessie was cuddled up to Jake looking pale and frightened.

"What's going on?" I finally asked and walked over to kneel in front of Nessie. "Is everything okay?" I asked looking into her worried eyes and reaching up to run a hand through her bronze hair. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and mingled with the concern was a small smile. She reached up and touched my face and I saw the reason why our family was so on edge and why her face was full of simultaneous joy and concern.

My eyes sparkled as a wide smile spread across my face and tears pooled in my eyes. "Oh my God Nessie, you're pregnant?" I pulled her into an enthusiastic hug and kissed her on the cheek and I could feel the stress drain from her body and I could feel her cheeks tense against my shoulder as a wide smile spread across her face. I finally pulled back holding her hands on her lap.

"Congratulations honey! Are you okay? Are you feeling alright? How far along are you?"

"Six weeks," she whispered, "and I feel fine. Everyone's just so worried because, well, you know what all happened when I was born. They're all worried about me since it's all so unique…a half vampire mother and shape shifter father."

"Well, is there any sign of acceleration of growth or anything like that so far?" I asked my father.

"Not as far as we can tell. The sonogram showed everything being typical for a six week fetus. But it's still so unique a situation that we can't be too careful."

I turned my smile back at Nessie, "Well, don't you worry about it. It's not good for little junior in there. Just remember that this crew is prone to _over reaction," _I said rolling my eyes at them. "Oh Nessie! Now I'm finally going to get to be an Auntie to an actual baby! I'm so happy for you guys!" Then I finally turned to Jake whose face was the most downtrodden of any.

"Congrats to you too big Papa!" I took his hand too, still holding Nessie's with my right hand. "Stay positive Jake. A positive mindset can make all of the difference in the world okay?" He shot me a weak smile and mouthed thank you as he reached over to kiss Nessie's head as he continued to rub her back soothingly.

I could tell by their posture that my reaction helped them relax a little. I was pretty sure knowing my family, that their concern for Nessie's health had resulted in a bleak and scary day for them. I was glad that I could give them a little sunshine to help remind them that this could end up being an amazing and wonderful thing for them.

I got up and went to sit next to Seth as everyone sat around a while longer. Suddenly Nessie's stomach rumbled, something which none of us had ever heard before. We were all surprised since she never seemed to have a need for human food. Her thirst was usually a stronger impulse and she preferred hunting, although over the years she had come across a few human foods during the holidays that she liked, she really only ate at times like those out of courtesy as much as anything else.

"Are you _hungry_ Ness?" Jake asked looking down at her with just as much surprise as any of us.

Her eyes were even wider than the rest of us as she looked at him with her hand over her abdomen as she furrowed her brow and then slowly nodded. I looked around to see realization dawn over the faces of the family members a split second before they rushed off to prepare a myriad of different foods for her to choose from. I could tell that the turn of events made them feel a little better. While Nessie had been more vampiric in nature in utero and made her mother unable to eat human food and needed blood to survive, it seemed that this little bundle was going to be the opposite making its mother convert to a more conventional human diet. Jake looked down at her and for the first time since I had gotten home I saw hope and joy in his eyes. They didn't seem to notice the vampires flying around them as they stared into each other's eyes.

Finally I got up pulling Seth with me and walked over past them and winked as I whispered, "I told you it would all be okay. This baby is going to be awesome!" and then disappeared into the kitchen to help with the meal preparation and give Nessie and Jake some semblance of privacy in which to talk.

We walked into the kitchen to find the conversation buzzing. Everyone seemed to agree that Nessie's newfound appetite was a good thing. Edward and Bella looked so funny. They both had a strange mixture of concern and excitement on their faces. I could tell that they were ecstatic that their daughter would get to experience the blessing of having a child and they could get to have grandchildren and yet at the same time, they were worrying about all the things that could go wrong. To be honest, I think they would have been worried even if she were fully human, knowing that complicated pregnancies were not unusual no matter a woman's lineage.

I walked over and hugged them both around their necks simultaneously as I whispered into their ears, "Okay you two, stop stressing and just enjoy this. She needs to see that everyone believes that everything will work out okay. Don't plant seeds of doubt in her head…she's going to be worrying about enough on her own without you guys encouraging it. Just relax and try to enjoy this. She's going to be fine, the baby's going to be fine, and you two are going to be the youngest, hottest grandparents to ever walk the face of this earth!"

Everyone in the kitchen laughed and Bella and Edward hugged me back, each placing a kiss on my cheek. "I mean it." I told them with a wink. "Chill out on the overprotective obsessing!"

"We promise" they said together.

We set the table and Seth, Jake, and I joined Nessie for her first enthusiastically eaten meal. Everyone watched in amazement as she kept picking up new dishes to sample as she made yummy noises and licked her lips. I was so happy for the both of them, but a glimmer of a thought crossed my mind that I rushed to squelch before Edward had a chance to see it, but in the corner of my eye I saw him look my way. I turned my gaze and he locked his eyes with my own and nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement of the fact that the same thought had crossed his own mind and it was possible. My heart fell at the thought that now the Volturi would have a new reason to focus on our family. Not only did we now have a human who knows the secret and a human vampire hybrid, but now we would have a werewolf human vampire hybrid. Considering their intrigue with the wolves during their last encounter with the family, there was a possibility that this baby would be too enticing a lure to resist. I tried to swallow past the huge lump in my throat and not let such thoughts dominate my mind, but every time I would look at Nessie the image would flash back into my mind. A chill ran down my back and tried to suppress a shiver hoping that nobody else would put such horrific thoughts together to cloud the joy surrounding this little miracle baby.


	7. Suppressing the Truth

**7. Suppressing the Truth **

The next few weeks flew by as we all obsessively waited on Nessie hand and foot. Suddenly she had a massive almost wolf worthy appetite and didn't meet a meal she didn't like. It was almost shocking in a way to see her go from being disgusted by most types of food except for a few to this. She was so happy and healthy and absolutely glowing in that happy pregnant lady kind of way, and Jacob glowed right along with her. It was a big relief when a second sonogram three weeks after the initial one indicated that the baby was indeed growing at a standard gestational rate. It was then that everyone finally truly relaxed and began to enjoy and savor Nessie's pregnancy and the impending addition to the family. The ladies of the family in particular became much closer, especially Nessie and me…so much so that she asked that since her mother wouldn't be capable of being in the delivery room with her and Jake if I would be willing to be there with her and help be her birthing coach. I was so honored that I actually cried!

In addition to fawning over Nessie, the thoughts of the Volturi returning inspired me to start back up my sparring with Emmett and Jasper. I knew it was a fruitless effort considering who the enemy was, but it felt better than doing nothing. Most of my evenings after school for the next few weeks were spent sparring with my brothers while Seth watched with a giddy goofy grin on his face. I got the impression that he really liked watching me attempt to and occasionally manage to actually get one of them down by using their own strength and momentum against them. I was really rusty the first couple of sessions, but I quickly got back to where I had been before the play and even managed to get a little faster due to my determination to be as capable as possible in case of an emergency. I didn't want my family's focus to be any more divided than it already would be with now having to defend two helpless family members.

Edward and I managed to pull Alice away from prying ears soon after the night we found out about the baby explaining our fears and asking her to keep a close eye on upcoming events. Over the years she had learned to see Jake and Nessie for the most part, but the baby was fogging her visions again making it difficult for her. Over the next few weeks she focused all the energy she could to keeping an eye on possible enemies and attempting to learn all she could about the baby.

The end of the school year was quickly approaching as well as prom. I told myself that I was relieved to see that nobody seemed to remember and thus I had been saved from yet another torturous shopping trip with Alice. Seth and I had been planning secretly on our own not wanting to take the focus off of Nessie and the baby. He had already arranged for a tux and a few surprises that he wouldn't share with me, and I had planned on wearing the dress that I had worn in California for our night out on the town. It was dressy enough and there was no reason to buy yet another dress that I would never have another occasion to wear it to in the future.

Alice had been so focused on keeping an eye on our future and the Volturi and countless other possible threats that she had been too distracted to notice my upcoming event until the day before prom when she came bursting into my room in a panic pulling me out of a dead sleep.

"Lina! How could you let me forget? I'm so sorry! I just now saw the prom and what you are planning on wearing. You really should have a better dress than that for your first prom. I mean seriously, the California dress is nowhere near dressy enough for a prom! We're going to keep you out of school today to go shopping."

"Alice, I can't skip school. If I miss school the day before a dance then I'm not allowed to attend the dance…school rule." She sighed with a huff crossing her arms and scowling at me. "Really Al, the dress is fine. I don't have any problem with wearing that dress at all."

"I just can't believe that you're stealing my chance to find you a dress for prom. Why didn't you remind me?" She said slumping sadly onto the foot of my bed.

"Because you had much more important things to focus on…my stupid school dance is nowhere near as important as keeping my niece or nephew safe." I replied scooting forward to rub her shoulder soothingly.

"I'm sorry Lina. It's not fair that all of a sudden everybody's so focused on Nessie and the baby and totally neglecting you."

I laughed out loud throwing my head back, "Oh Alice! You guys have obsessed over me for so long, I'm glad to have someone else to share the focus with! I'm not being neglected at all! Not only that but I'm the object of imprinting…It's impossible to ever be neglected!"

She laughed too. "I'm still sorry. You know I've looked forward to your first prom for so long. I had all of these plans of major shopping trips to New York to find the perfect dress and the perfect hairstyle and the perfect shoes. I'm sorry that I don't get to do all of that with you."

I smiled hugging her around her tiny shoulders, "Alice?" She looked up at me with sad eyes. "I'm only a junior, there's going to be another prom next year too…not to mention a wedding in the not too distant future. This wasn't your one and only chance to go completely insane on the shopping." She smiled a wide cheerful smile as she looked into the future jumping off the bed in a fluid motion.

"Yes! Next year we'll do it up right! We'll even get you some Manolo's and maybe we'll go Vera Wang for your prom dress. I will make it up to you, I promise! Oh and for your wedding, I'll call up Perrine Bruyere again and get started with the design of your wedding dress. I know you won't want to go the same direction as Bella, but I'm sure that we can work together to get it just perfect for you. I see off the shoulder with some crystals encrusted along the bodice…." I grimaced at the thought of the insanity I faced and Alice's voice trailed off as she wandered out of my room musing over the possibilities of my dress.

I called after her, "Al, there's nothing to make up to me, I promise, and we have well over a year before we have to deal with any of that…" but my pleas fell on deaf ears. She was already in full Alice fashion obsession mode and nobody would be able to break through with reality for at least an hour. "This is why I didn't remind you by the way…there are far more important things to focus on Mary Alice!" I yelled at her as I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stood up for the first time since being so abruptly awoken by my fashion minded fairy god sister.

I cleaned up for the day and made my way downstairs to find a house full of sad faces. "What's wrong with you guys?" I asked with a frown.

Nessie walked over to me and hugged me around the shoulders. "I'm so sorry that we've been missing out on your life lately."

I rolled my eyes. "Ugh, first Alice and now all of you? Okay you guys, you've really got to stop with this! I know you heard the whole conversation I just had with Alice upstairs. I mean it. It's fine. There are far more important things going on than a silly school dance, and with Seth around it's not like I'm lonely or anything." On cue he was standing behind me smiling with his arms around my waist.

"For goodness sake, I'm nearly fully grown and ENGAGED," I flashed my ring to emphasize my point, "it's not like I need taken care of like I did when I was five!" I ran my hand up and down Nessie's arm and gently touched her stomach, "I'd much rather everyone be focused on this little one okay? I'm just as obsessed with her as everyone else."

"Her?" Nessie asked looking surprised.

I shook my head slowly. "I don't know why…I just keep referring to the baby as her in my mind."

"Me too!" She said beaming. "I have no reason to, I just do. I keep dreaming it's a girl."

I smiled at her as everybody began discussing the baby again. I grabbed a plate of food out of the buffet that was laid out for breakfast and went to sit in the dining room with Seth right behind me. He looked at me appraisingly like he was trying to see if I was just trying to save everyone's feelings from the fact that I actually was hurt or I was really okay with it. I smiled at him warmly and leaned forward to place a kiss on his lips. "Yes, I really am fine with it sweetheart. I promise!"

He smiled back but he didn't look convinced and offered to drive me to school today and pick me back up again afterward. After coming back from California he had a lot more work to do again with fixing the things the director had mentioned and starting up four new projects, so I told him that I wanted him to not worry about picking me up from school for a while. It's not like it was that much time that I missed out on being with him and then he had an extra half an hour to dedicate to work before I got home and he lost all focus again. I agreed that it would be nice and ate my food quickly before hurrying out to the car to ride with Seth to school.

Once we were safely outside the three mile radius of Edward's abilities Seth turned to me, "Okay, so seriously…you're totally fine?"

I shrugged, "Well, yeah. I mean this is good, they need this, and they need to learn to focus on other things for a change. They've spent the last thirteen years with me being the center of their worlds more or less, making every decision around me and my needs. It's good that they wean off of that before I get married and move on with my life. I mean we already know that we're only staying here for a couple more years while I get my prerequisites at the community college before we'll be moving so I can go to Dartmouth. Then after that we're going to have to set down roots somewhere and no matter where that is, they won't be able to stay with us for long. This baby is giving them something new to focus on and that's good for everyone."

"Those are wonderful rationalizations sweetheart, but I'm talking about the gut reaction…the things that you feel before you talk yourself into the common sense responses." He said as he reached over and took my hand and kissed it. "You were essentially an only child most of your life, there has to be some sort of reaction to this."

I frowned at him, annoyed that he wasn't letting me live in my well constructed rational base of denial. "Fine, sometimes it makes me a little sad, but it's good for me too. I need to grow up as well and it would be a lot harder to let go and leave them if this situation didn't help the transition. Not only that but I really am thrilled about the baby."

He reached over and rubbed my shoulder as he looked ahead at the road. Then a realization struck. "I haven't been able to hide it from Edward and Jasper though, have I?" He looked at me in silence as he shook his head slightly.

"And here I thought I was being so slick." I said with a half smile. He still didn't say anything but just shot me a sympathetic smile.

"So they brought in the big guns…the one person that could get the truth out of me without the sugar coating…sneaky bastards!" He laughed at that squeezing my hand again.

"Well, Crap! So what do they think about it all?" I asked hanging my head down in frustration and sadness.

"They think you have every right to your feelings and they thought it was better if you talked about them instead of trying to hide them like you always do."

"Did they tell the others?"

"Yeah, it was an ongoing discussion this morning before you came down. They're really worried about you and feel really bad."

"They shouldn't though. Like you said, it's just like anybody who gets a new sibling. There's bound to be some 'jealousy issues'. Not that I'm really jealous…it's more like it put into stark relief how much I'm growing up and my life is changing and will never be the same. I'll never be the four-year-old little girl that they took in and cared for ever again. Pretty soon I'll be out of high school, married, off to college, and out in the world…and they'll have a new young one to dote on and spoil." I said with a warm smile imagining exactly how spoiled little junior was going to be. "And you know, I bet Nessie went through something similar when I came into their lives. It's a normal part of the adaptation process."

"Well listen to you Miss Psychology Today!" He tried to joke with me. I smiled back just before I had a light bulb moment.

"Oh! I bet that's why Nessie acted the way she did this morning. She knows exactly what I'm feeling like because she felt it once upon a time herself. Duh! I'm such a dork! I should have seen it before! Poor Nessie, the last thing she needs is to be worried about me and my stupid emotions." I said shaking my head. By this point we were already parked in the school lot. Seth reached over and gave me a hug and kissed me on the forehead.

"I love you. Now do me a favor? Stop trying to be all grown up about everything and be the seventeen year old that you are and let yourself feel whatever it is that you are feeling. Stifling your emotions only leads to them resurfacing later even more strongly. Just let yourself feel it and then deal with it and move on."

"That's what I've been doing _Mr. Psychology Today_." I responded sarcastically.

"Noooo, you've been suppressing it and rationalizing in order to let yourself think you've moved on. What you need to do is really allow yourself to feel it and then let it go."

I gave him a weak salute as I mouthed off again "Yes sir boss…I'll get right on that."

He smiled slyly at my repeated attempt to dodge the real issues with sarcasm and then leaned over to take my face in his hands and give me a proper kiss. "It's okay, I'll always love you and continue to spoil you." He said with a wink. "Now you better be getting in there before you're late."

I looked up surprised to find that the parking lot was totally empty. I told him I loved him too and rushed up to the sophomore hall doors and ran to my locker to get ready for the day.

I attempted to follow Seth's advice and took advantage of my school day away from home to really think about the things I had been feeling. By the end of the day I accepted the fact that I was a little jealous, but that it was normal and then embraced my future with even more zeal and resolved myself to go ahead and let go of the last remnants of childhood and embrace the adulthood that was ahead of me.

The last bell of the day rang and I rushed out to meet Seth. He was waiting patiently by leaning against the side of the car just as he had been the first day he picked me up from school. I ran up to him with a big smile on my face and jumped into his waiting arms giving him a big kiss. We hopped in the car and drove home and focused our discussion on prom the next night.

When I finally made it up to my room to get ready for bed, I walked in to find a new garment bag hanging on the back of my door with a note from Alice.

_I had to go hunting, so I couldn't stay to see what you think, but I found this today and thought maybe you would prefer it to the California dress for tomorrow night. You can wear whichever one you like better, but I wanted you to have an option. I'll do your hair tomorrow for prom if you would like. Jasper and I will be back by morning. I love you and I really am sorry. –Love, Alice_

I pulled open the bag and found the most amazing dress I had ever seen. It was strapless, which was typically not a design I would choose for myself, but the colors were stunning. It had two materials, the bottom layers were a creamy sheer material with a faded blue rose design interspersed that had a slight shimmer to it and had a sapphire blue satin outer layer. The long skirt had a slit all the way up to the thigh that revealed the sheer material underneath and there was also a rim of the sheer material peeking along the top of the dress. My breath caught in my chest as I pulled it from the hanger and held it in front of me. I slowly stepped into it and zipped it up and squealed in delight. Alice had done it…she had found the absolute perfect dress.

I slid the matching wrap around my shoulders and smiled as I turned to peek from all angles. In spite of the fact that it was strapless, which was typically a Lina fashion no-no, I didn't feel exposed at all and my locket looked perfect sitting above the neckline. I started playing with my hair wondering what Alice would do it and opened the shoebox I found on my bed trying on the heels. After watching myself turn in the mirror a few more times I carefully slid the dress back off and hung it back in the garment bag before running back downstairs to tell my sisters about the dress.

Rosalie, Bella, and Nessie smiled at me, happy to see me so excited for the dress. They knew it would make Alice's day that I was so happy with it too, then I ran down the path to Seth's house and ran in the front door. There was no sign of him downstairs so I ran up to find him in the office working on one of his work projects and he looked shocked to see me knowing I should be at home since it was after curfew. I ran over and jumped into his lap rambling the whole time about the beautiful new dress and how much I loved it. He smiled and played with my hair and told me that he was excited to see me in it tomorrow and then reminded me that I should probably get home since I was technically in violation of curfew. He walked me back across the path home and kissed me goodnight and I floated back inside on cloud nine.

I stayed up a while longer talking to my sisters before finally making my way back up to bed. I lay there a long while daydreaming about Seth seeing me in the dress and dancing with him at prom all night long. I finally fell asleep with a wide smile on my face and dreamed of dancing.

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**_Author's Note: Thanks to all of you who anonymously posted for your kind comments. I love you guys too! Thanks for reviewing. I was asked by "The Curious Yet Silent Admirer" if I might take a shot at writing some of this from Seth's POV. I decided to sit down during a spot of writer's block with the last chapter and got about 3/4 through the first chapter of this story from his POV, but I found it a little more difficult for me than writing from Lina's POV since I've been stuck in her head for the past two months. I know what he's thinking, but I have a hard time really conveying his 'voice' correctly in my writing, so for now I don't think I'm going to try...especially considering that if I did it would mean slowing down production of this story which might make some of you loyal reader's a tad bit antsy :D So unless I find a cool way to bring in Seth's POV again like i did in Chapter 44 of In the Shadow of the Day, then I probably won't be doing that. _**

**_ Next chapter will be prom so stay tuned. I hope to crank it out in the next day or two...but I was just officially released from by the doctor yesterday and no longer have any excuse to avoid my trashed house in the wake of two weeks of post surgical recovery. Needless to say, it's a mess and I have to turn back into a grown up for the next few days and get it back into shape. So, don't be surprised if there's a little more delay between chapters in the next week or two. I promise I'll do all that I can, but I can't put off the real world any longer as much as I wish I could! Thanks for reading guys and please remember to review! Answers to your other questions will be coming soon...the timeline is going to pick up a bit again after prom!_**


	8. Prom Night

_**Author's Note: Hey guys…sorry it's taken me so long to get this done...I know you guys have loved my speedy updates and I've let you down this time. My Grandmother has been going in and out of the hospital and things are looking grim which has been stealing some of my writing mood, I had a house to return to order, which only got about halfway completed before I was dying to get back to this, and social obligations that kept me away from the computer. Then to top it all off I have a fussy teething five month old that I had to hold a lot while I read some awesome fanfiction that has been nominated for the twilight awards which were so good I ended up staying up until 2am one night just because I couldn't walk away. I totally encourage you guys to check some of those out, but be careful because there are a lot of pretty racy lemons in there too…talk about blushing! Still no word on the nominations for In the Shadow of the Day, but thanks to those of you who told me you nominated it. I really appreciate it! **_

_**I want to take a second to answer an anonymous post from "Whoa!" Whoa asked where I get my inspirations from thinking it must be somewhere awesome, but to be honest half of it comes from things that I've experienced in my life (and trust me, my life isn't all that exciting…although the high school layout and the teachers there were from my life; Seth is has a lot of my hubby in him, including the flu care package which in the real world was actually my first Valentine's gift from him before we met in person, but when I first knew for sure that I loved him; My hubby and I ate at the Space Needle for our very first wedding anniversary while on vacation; the California trip was gleaned from a family trip I took once; and Lina's prom dress is actually stolen from my hubby's cousin because I loved her dress and wished it had been mine…okay so a lot of the stuff came from my own life…lol) and the rest comes from my little ole noggin. I've always had a very vivid imagination and have very vivid dreams…which is where the premise for Lina and her life with the Cullens originated. Matter of fact, the final chapter of this story is already written because it was part of that dream and I got it down early on so I wouldn't lose it. I'm sure I'll have to tweak it by the end of it all, but for now it's definitely a complete rough draft. **_

_**Anyway…enough about me…on with the prom!!!!(It's the longest chapter yet…but I couldn't bear to break it up)**_

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**8. Prom Night**

I didn't get to see Seth all day as I was trapped in the prison of Alice beautification camp. I wasn't even allowed to wake up on my own because she was bouncing on my bed squealing excitedly that she was so glad I loved the dress before my eyes had even hinted at fluttering open to face the day. From there I was pulled kicking and screaming into the shower where I stayed until the hot water ran out utilizing the endless parade of body buffing creams, masks, heat activated moisturizers, hot oil hair treatments, and deep acting hair conditioners that Alice continued to hand to me through the shower curtain.

After my torturously long and uncomfortable shower I was made to sit on a chair in Alice's bathroom the rest of the day as she dried and curled and pinned and painted me over and over until I no longer recognized the face looking back at me in the big mirror over the sink. The transformation was actually quite stunning and for the first time in my thirteen years living with the Cullens I _almost _felt as though I could stand next to them and not look too incredibly inferior. I was more than a little shocked expecting to look overly made up after the exhausting amount of time that she had spent on me, but I was actually left with a very natural look. My make up left my complexion looking nearly flawless and almost porcelain like with a slight pink shading along my cheeks, a very light coloring of my eyelids, and glossy pink lips that looked soft and pouty. My hair was the most exquisite part though. Alice had painstakingly turned it into a sea of ringlets that she carefully pinned so that they cascaded from a clip in the middle my head and flowing down my back with a few strategically placed ringlets around my face. She then adorned the ringlets with heart shaped crystal pins and lined the top of my head with them and the apex of the pile of ringlets in a way that resembled a tiara.

It was four o'clock before my face and hair were complete and Alice led me carefully back to my bedroom to help me slip into my dress and finish the process of getting ready replacing my precious locket from Seth as the final step. I stepped back and turned slowly in awe of the girl who slowly blinked back from the full-length mirror in amazement. My mind just could not make the connection that the reflection in the mirror belonged to me.

As I stood in the mirror staring in shock I could barely hear Alice's voice behind me asking if I was happy with the results. I nodded slowly unable to answer at first. When the words finally formed I was once again shocked that the vision in the mirror's lips moved to the rhythm of my voice.

"Oh my, Alice, I can't believe it! It's amazing! Thank you so much!" I finally blurted out as I stared at the mirror and a wide smile spread across the face of the porcelain reflection. Alice screamed in reaction to my appreciation and jumped up and down clapping. I laughed at her and thanked her again hugging her small cold frame enthusiastically. I kissed her on the top of her head and whispered, "It's perfect Alice, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect prom dress. Thank you!"

She looked over at the clock and her eyes bugged a little. "Oh crap, we're running late. I promised Seth I'd have you down and ready to leave at four thirty. Come on." She said taking me by the elbow as she snatched up a small matching clutch that I hadn't noticed before and led me to the staircase. I grabbed the front of my dress in my hands to lift it slightly as I made my way down the stairs to keep from tripping on the long skirt. I halfway expected to hear the typical gasps and declarations that my family usually bestowed upon me when I came down for any major event, but the room was silent and empty. I frowned slightly, more than a little surprised that I was disappointed. It always embarrassed me to have them act that way about me, but it felt strange not to have it either. I could feel a pricking at my eyes and prayed that the tears that were threatening to pool would not come and wreck my perfect porcelain like façade.

I didn't have too much time to dwell when to my surprise Alice led me through the kitchen and dining room to the back door. She opened it and led me out into the open back yard that had a line of white canopies leading from the front door and out through the forest over the path that connected our house with Seth's. Under the canopies and white plastic pathway was laid out for us to walk upon. I looked over at Alice in suspicion as she slowly led me along the path taking furtive looks at my face and hair making sure that the soft drizzle of the afternoon was not taking it's toll on my new look.

A few minutes later we exited the other side of the forest and there on the front porch stood my family with video cameras, digital cameras and wide smiles. My gaze only danced across them for a second before I focused on the form in the middle of the group on the bottom step. There stood Seth looking more handsome than I had ever seen him with a wide white smile and large twinkling eyes meeting mine. He had on a black tux with a blue vest that matched my dress. I had to fight every instinct to run the last few feet and jump into his arms. Thankfully he solved my issues by stepping off the porch and taking a few long strides to meet me under the last canopy as Alice disappeared from my side and appeared on the porch in front of Jasper leaning happily against his chest.

He stood in front of me, staring down at me with the most loving look I had ever seen. "You look so amazing. That color makes your eyes sparkle!"

I smiled and bit my lip lightly as I felt a blush reach my cheeks. "Thank you," I whispered. "You look pretty incredible yourself."

He reached down and gently kissed my cheek and then turned toward the house and offered his arm to me. I took it with my left hand as I once again reached down to grab the front of my dress with my right and allowed him to lead me the rest of the distance to the house and help me climb the stairs. There my family took their typical turns hugging me and telling me how lovely I looked and for the first time in forever, I actually sort of believed them.

After they were done they dispersed as Seth led me to the door of the house and opened it for me, motioning for me to enter. I stepped inside and gasped. In the corner of the dining room where our family sized dining table normally stood was a small round table for two under a gauzy canopy of white covered with tiny white twinkle lights. On the table was a candle lit dinner. The two chairs were situated in a way to allow one to gaze out through the back windows toward the pond where the small white gazebo stretched over the water which was also lit with white twinkle lights.

I turned to him with wide shocked eyes and he chuckled. "I told you I had a few tricks up my sleeve. I've been planning this for months!"

"It's amazing Seth! Thank you!"

He took my hand and kissed it just above my engagement ring and continued to hold it staring down at me while he rubbed the back of my hand gently with his thumb. After a few seconds he led me by the hand to the table and pulled out the chair for me before turning to the small stereo on the counter and starting some soft romantic classical music. He reached over to the counter and pulled a glass bottle from a wine bucket and turned back to me pouring a little into the champagne flute in front of me and then some in his. I raised my eyebrows at him, knowing it wasn't real alcohol but teasing nonetheless.

He smiled at me and rolled his eyes knowing exactly what I was up to and mumbled "Sparkling Cider, but you already knew that."

I giggled lightly as he came and sat next to me taking both glasses and handing one to me before leaning forward from his seat and looking into my eyes. "I love doing things like this for you…I just love seeing the surprise on your face! Here's to a lifetime of opportunities for me to surprise you." He reached his glass forward and clinked it to mine before we took sips never breaking our gaze.

I reached over and took his glass from his hands as his brow furrowed and sat both glasses on the table before turning back to him and taking his face between my hands and placing a long sweet kiss on his lips. "Thank you for working so hard to make this special for me. You really didn't have to go through all of this trouble though. I would have been on cloud nine just holding you in my arms on the dance floor…but I do love it and I love you." I leaned forward again this time kissing him with more passion, letting my tongue drive home the point in a way that my words could not.

After a few minutes of wonderful kissing, we decided that it would probably be a good idea to eat before the food got cold. I was once again shocked to find the effort he had gone through ordering in from a fine dining restaurant in Olympia. We had a delicious duck with an amazing sweet rice side that tasted slightly of cinnamon with nuts and raisins. Pleased by my exclamations of appreciation, Seth promised to take me to the restaurant some night for a nice date in the near future.

Due to how early our evening started, we finished dinner with an hour to spare. Seth pulled me out of my chair and held me in his arms moving slowly with me in time to the music.

"Um…aren't we supposed to save this for the dance? It is the purpose after all…"

"Oh just hush up and dance Cullen." He said with a laugh and pulled me closer to his chest kissing my forehead. We danced and kissed in our living room for the whole hour just enjoying each other's company. We occasionally danced together on date nights, in the very spot we were in at this point in fact, but not usually dressed to the nines with my hair piled on top of my head. For some reason it did feel different and I was excited to share the night with my Seth.

When it was finally time to leave, Seth told me that there was one more surprise. He led me through the front door to find a black stretch limo with a waiting driver sitting out front. I looked over at him and shot him a sly smile before biting my lip at the memory of the last time we took a trip in a limo. It was very…interesting…to say the least. He looked over at me with a wink, obviously remembering the same evening and then offered his arm and led me to the car where he assisted me in and then walked to the other side to enter. Inside there was a small box on the seat. Seth leaned over and opened it to reveal a wrist corsage made of sterling roses and orchids. I smiled and leaned over to kiss him as the car began to move. He took the corsage and slid it over my wrist before taking my hand and kissing it gently.

It seemed like a wee bit of a waste to rent a limo just to drive us to and from prom. Before I knew it we were pulling around to the back of the school to stop in front of the doors that led directly into the gym. The driver walked around and opened the door for me offering his hand to assist me out of the car. Before I was completely out of the car Seth was already at my side placing a tender hand under my elbow to assist me as well. He reached his hand sweetly around my waist and leaned down to place a sweet kiss on my nose and nuzzled my ear.

"Here we go Angel," he whispered before placing a gentle kiss on the flesh just behind my ear giving me a deep shiver. I loved when he kissed there but it was a little awkward timing to do so just before walking into a room full of my classmates.

We stepped through the doorway and my eyes widened as I looked around the gym in amazement. It had been transformed from ugly yellow cinder blocks with brown bleachers, championship banners, and ugly metal rafters into a beautiful sea of billowing white tulle and twinkling white lights that cascaded across the ceiling like fluffy white clouds on a starry night and down the walls in flowing curtains. The ugly markings of the large center basketball court were covered by large pieces of blue sheeting and in the center of the large floor stood a black and silver water fountain flowing with the faint whisper of smoke billowing from its base to drift across the floor. I gasped, my eyes roaming the scene in front of me as I marveled at how an ordinary ugly gym could be converted into such a beautiful scene as what lay before me. Seth chuckled lightly behind me as he snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me back against his chest.

"So do you want to actually go the rest of the way inside or just stand here looking at it all night?" He whispered into my ear touching it with his lips giving me another shiver as I felt his body vibrate slightly behind me with the force of another silent chuckle.

I looked over my shoulder at him and smirked at him rolling my eyes before I grabbed his hand in my own and led him further into the room. It didn't take long for Leighton to spot us and make a beeline for us with Lucas, Riley, and Malia in tow. When we first returned from Washington none of my friends really knew what to make of our relationship and how quickly things had progressed between us. It was a little awkward for a few weeks, but over time they all got used to it and things got better. Eventually we all ended up going on the occasional group date as part of Seth's obsession that I get to fully experience my teen years, fearful that he was stealing it from me with our young love and engagement. This of course was hilarious to me seeing as how the only time my life had ever been anywhere near that of a normal teenager had been during the time since we had been talking.

"Wow Lina, I love your dress! You look beautiful!" Malia exclaimed as they approached us. "Alice really did herself in this time didn't she?"

I smiled widely thinking of my little pixie fairy godsister. "That she did! I love it!" I looked up to see Seth was still smiling at me with the typical twinkle in his eyes. He always got this special look on his face when he watched me interact with my friends, sort of like he was getting some kind of particular satisfaction out of watching me be a 'normal teenager'.

We all talked awhile longer before we opted to go get pictures taken before getting out on the dance floor. I couldn't help but feel horrible for poor Seth. He was a grown man having to go through all of these silly trappings of high school just for me. He never complained though, not only that, but he happily suggested other activities that had never occurred to me on a regular basis.

He shocked not only me but the photographer and all the people standing in line for their turn when he scooped me up in his arms for our picture holding me in a bridal carry and placing a sweet kiss on my cheek. I smiled up at him and he winked.

"Between your sisters and our mothers we have a gazillion formal poses. I wanted this one to be for us and us alone." I laughed and kissed him before he sat me back down on the floor. We slowly made our way back across the gymnasium taking in the scene and looking out toward the dance floor watching all of the couples gyrating to a funky techno song. I crinkled my nose reflexively never having been a fan of techno and Seth laughed at my expression before hugging me once again from behind and whispering in my ear.

Thankfully after just a couple of minutes the music changed to a slow song and I turned around to face Seth still hugged to his chest and looking straight up into his eyes. "So Mr. Clearwater…you ready to spin your fiancée on a real dance floor?"

He smiled down at me and kissed my nose before grabbing my hand lifting it above my head and grasping my shoulder making me pirouette in front of him before backing onto the dance floor and pulling me with him. After a few steps he stopped and kept pulling me until I was less than an inch away from him. He reached for my other hand and brought them both to rest behind his neck and then slid his hands down my arms and rib cage to rest on my waist. I ran my fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck and sighed leaning forward closing the minute amount of space between us and tipped up on my toes to kiss his lips gently before rolling back to my heels and burying my nose in his neck, taking a deep breath to savor his scent. We slowly rocked back and forth to the beat of the love song ringing above our heads blissfully unaware of anything happening around us. For that moment we were the only two people in the world.

We spent every slow dance of the night that way which was really no big surprise. I had expected to dance every slow song in as close of a proximity to Seth's body as we could legally manage in public but my surprise came when the fast dances started. I fully expected after my last dance experience for Seth to make his way to sit with the rest of the boys during the fast songs and was pleasantly surprised when the first fast song started and a twinkle filled his eyes. He grabbed my hand and spun me quickly as he had when we entered the dance floor and when I stopped he stepped back in front of me taking my hips in his hands and leading them to shake back and forth to the beat. At first I sort of stood there letting his hands guide me in the shock and then a smile spread across my face and I started moving my hips and shoulders with his. I don't know if it was a result of his imprint impulse to keep me happy or if my man just loved to dance, but it was definitely a lot more fun than dancing with the girls all night.

As the night progressed so did our comfort with fast dancing and a few dances later there was no longer any space between us during the fast or slow dances. Neither of us seemed to tire of moving to the music in each other's embrace staying on the dance floor the entire time until an announcement was made to clear the dance floor for the prom court to take center stage. Not at all interested in who the king and queen would be, we took this opportunity to cool off, use the restrooms, and get some refreshments.

I was in a stall of the bathroom trying to figure out how on earth to use the restroom with dignity in the massive yards of fabric surrounding me when I heard girls' voices invade the room. I didn't pay any attention until I heard my name above the high-pitched squeals and giggles. I immediately recognized the voices.

"Oh God, Lina is such a loser. Did you see that dress? What does she think this is a cotillion?" Amy sneered with a slightly sadistic laugh

"Oh I know and did you see the hot guy she is with? She must have trapped him somehow or something because she is nowhere near hot enough to land a hot piece of ass like that. Did you see that face and oh God, those muscles…" Danya said echoing Amy's sadistic tone. My heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces…they were speaking my every fear that I wasn't good enough to be with Seth. Maybe his imprinting somehow did trap him into being with me…I bit my lip hard trying not to let the sobs that were fighting to escape my chest be heard.

"She has to be pregnant. I mean why else would anyone get engaged at our age? He probably thought she'd be a nice easy one-night stand and then she got knocked up and is blackmailing him or something. It's the only thing that makes sense." Amy continued.

"Yeah, well give me an hour or so with him. I'm sure I could show him what a real woman feels like. I could totally land him if she would just let him out of her sight for ten minutes. I swear she's so damn clingy with him. She holds onto him like she's afraid he's going to disappear."

"Oh Danya, you're so bad!" Amy said chuckling. "But I bet you're right. You're ten times the woman that ugly spoiled rich brat is. Oh, you know that's probably it! He's probably just after her family's money!"

"I bet you're right! Hope he's smart enough to avoid the prenup!" Their voices disappeared into the noisy bustle of the hallway, but I couldn't bring myself to step out of the stall. Suddenly every fear I had tried so hard to squelch was suddenly glaring in my face. What if they were right? Well, I mean in many ways I knew they weren't right. Their guesses about how he was trapped were so far off the mark that it wasn't even funny, Seth and I still hadn't had sex yet, so pregnancy was out and he would never be with me for my family's money…but what if somewhere deep inside Seth did feel trapped. I always knew that I wasn't good enough for him. It was never a question in my mind.

I leaned against the wall and let the tears roll down my face, mutilating Alice's perfect makeover. I couldn't move…I couldn't stop crying…I just stood there and hid from the world. I don't know how long I was in there, but eventually amongst the various female voices to come and go from the restroom I heard two more that I recognized.

"Lina? Lina are you in here?" I heard Malia's worried voice call.

"Lina?" Leighton's tone mirrored Malia's, "Where are you? Seth is worried."

I sniffled and they were instantly in front of my stall. "Lina? What happened? Come out of there and talk to us please." They encouraged. Finally I opened the door with shaky hands and stepped out. Their faces dropped as they saw me.

"Oh honey," Malia commiserated reaching an arm around my shoulder and leading me further out into the room, "what happened?"

I began to recount the things that the vicious snot squad ringleaders had said and they listened and argued and tried to convince me that the girls were just jealous, but nothing they said was of any use. Finally Malia disappeared and returned with Seth in tow. He strode quickly across the bathroom and pulled me his warm embrace stroking my head as he kissed it and told me he was there and to calm down. I melted into his arms sobbing and feeling completely ridiculous and embarrassed. Leighton and Malia disappeared through the door and left us alone.

"Shh Angel. Shhh Sweetheart. Please don't cry." Seth said stroking my cheek and trying to get me to look at him.

"Baby, please look at me. I need you to look at me Lina." I slowly lifted my red teary eyes to meet his gaze. He looked down at me with such concern and pain and it made me want to cry even more.

"Baby, I love you. The girls told me what those stupid bitches said about you." I looked up at him with shocked eyes. I had never heard Seth curse before, much less with the vehemence I heard in his words. "It makes me want to tear their ugly heads off…but Angel, sweetheart, you can't believe a word that they said or let it bother you. They are just petty immature jealous wannabes who will never be in the slightest bit as beautiful as you are. And someday when what little outer beauty they have has disappeared behind wrinkles and age spots, they won't have anything left. You have it all and they can't stand it."

"But Seth, what if they weren't all wrong? What if I did trap you?"

He laughed at me this time, which actually caused a flame of anger to flicker in my eyes. "What are you talking about Angel? You took my sad little lonely world and filled it with a light and love that I never knew was missing. If that's trapping someone then everyone should be so lucky!"

I looked up at him with wide eyes, not laughing with him and he looked down suddenly all good humor gone from his face as he realized I was serious. "What if it's all some trick of imprinting? Would you still be here if the imprinting didn't happen or would you be back in Washington getting sick of dealing with insipid high school drama and waiting patiently for me to grow up? What if you're stuck with me when otherwise you would be free to choose not to stay?"

Now it was his turn to have tears forming in his eyes as he looked down at me with the saddest expression I had ever seen on his face. "How can you possibly believe a single word coming out of your mouth right now? Yes I would be here waiting for you even if the imprinting never happened because I LOVE YOU. I was meant to be with you. Do the stupid words of some jealous snobs who have the emotional depth of a teaspoon really overshadow every word I've ever said to you…every gift I've ever given you? Open your locket and read it…" he said grabbing my necklace and pinching it open and pointing to the words inscribed inside. "Does this really mean nothing to you?"

I looked down and read the words in the middle of the inside of the heart next to the picture of the two of us kissing.

_You are my sun and my moon, my day and my night, one smile from you chases all of the shadows away. I'll love you forever and beyond. -Yours Always Seth_

My tears rolled down my cheeks in streams as I remembered all of the times that he proclaimed his love for me, gave me this locket, and the engagement ring on my left hand, and the promise ring on my right, and the memories that he shared with me through Nessie's ability. My sobs rumbled from my chest again as I crumbled into Seth's chest. I fisted his shirt in my hands as I pulled him as close as I could.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I know you're right. I've seen it for myself time and time again." I pulled away to look up into his eyes, "But no matter how many times I hear it and see it, I still just can't believe that you can possibly love me as much as you do. I don't deserve you. You're amazing and I'm so ordinary and plain. You're kind and talented and hot and." I couldn't finish my sentence because suddenly his lips were crushing into mine his hands moved up to my face as he deepened the kiss and then pulled away gently stroking my cheeks with his thumbs.

"Silly Lina," he whispered with a smile. "It's me who doesn't deserve you, but it's not going to stop me from trying. I'm going to love you till the day I die and it doesn't matter what anyone says or thinks. My heart belongs to you and I'll spend every day if I have to reminding you that I love you." He kissed my forehead, each of my eyes, my nose, and finally my lips as he pulled me into his arms.

"Now let's go to that mirror and straighten yourself out and then we're going to go out there and show those insipid sluts exactly how in love we are!" I laughed as he led me from behind to the mirror and I fussed with my face. I opened my clutch to see that Alice had planned ahead with a compact full of powder and did my best to fix the damage I had done to my face and then walked back out of the bathroom in Seth's arms into the gawking stares of the few dozen students in the hall.

Amy and Danya were among the crowd and as we passed them on our way to the gym Seth kissed me on the forehead and looked deeply into my eyes making sure to speak loud enough so that they could hear. "I'm so lucky to have you. You're the most beautiful woman in the world and I can't wait until I can hold you in my arms and make love to you every night."

I contained my reaction until we were far enough away for them not to see before my mouth dropped open and my eyes grew wide and I gaped at him in amazement at what he said. He laughed and shrugged. "It's the truth, every word; I just usually keep the last part to myself for the sake of my health. Your brothers would kill me if I ever said that out loud around them even if they're fully aware of the fact."

He led me back out to the middle of the dance floor and pulled me into his arms and held me close the rest of the night, occasionally leaning down to kiss my neck and whisper into my ear how much he loved me. He was determined that I didn't forget for even one second. There was never a second throughout the rest of the night that he wasn't touching me in some capacity, even if it was simply his hand on my arm or the small of my back as we talked to my friends, he made sure that I knew that he was there and wasn't going anywhere.

Just before the evening ended he whispered in my ear that he would be right back and disappeared. It felt a little strange since it was the first time since the bathroom incident that I couldn't feel his hand on me comforting me, but I stood there with Leighton and Malia with my head held high, determined not to let Amy and Danya or anybody else for that matter to undermine my confidence in my relationship with Seth again. I was his choice and I had reminders of that fact around my neck and on both hands.

After just a couple of minutes I felt his familiar warm hand on the small of my back again and I turned to face him placing a kiss on his lips and telling him that I missed him just as the first few measures of the next song began. Recognition lit my face as I immediately recognized it as "our" song…the song that he had me play as we sat facing one another via the web cam in my bedroom seven months ago…Crush by David Archuleta. I saw some funny faces around me, as the kids of my school were unfamiliar with the tune that was now a little on the old side, but I was beaming as Seth took my hand and led me to the middle of the dance floor. He lifted my hand again turning me in another pirouette before he pulled me close and kissed my lips as he cradled my head in his hands. Then he leaned back just enough to stare into my eyes as he sang the lyrics to the song to me with a look of adoration in his eyes. I was in awe as I listed to his beautiful brassy voice sing the lyrics with such emotion. I didn't need Nessie's ability to experience his love for me because I could feel it radiating into me. We were once again the only two people in existence as we became lost in our own world and when the song ended he pulled me into a long and passionate kiss that left me breathless.

It was midnight when we arrived back home. We were given another pass to stay at Seth's this evening with the additional warning that Edward would not be going hunting, so we would be 'under surveillance'. It was rare to get such warnings these days, but I guessed that my parents suspected that the temptations of prom night might be more than our promises could withstand. Oh if they only knew! After the events of that night and Seth's declarations in the women's bathroom of all places, I wanted so badly to share our love in every conceivable way, but besides the observant nature of my family, I knew my honorable fiancée wouldn't give in either, so I brushed the ideas aside.

I had suspected that upon arriving home the evening would be over, but I was wrong. Seth opened the car door for me and instead of leading me inside, he led me around the house and out onto the gazebo where a small CD player was already playing music and he pulled me into his arms and we continued to dance in the moonlight under the twinkling canopy of lights. We spent the rest of the night in the gazebo laughing and talking and holding one another and occasionally dancing under the stars. We watched the sun rise in the east painting the little pond with ripples of pink, gold, and orange before finally going inside, pulling the shades in our bedroom, and cuddling up together to sleep for the very first time in the soft comfy bed in the bedroom of our home.


	9. Houseguests

**9. Houseguests**

I was so glad when the school year ended just two weeks after my amazing prom night with Seth. Seth and I spent the better part of the next month working on remodeling the downstairs gym for Leah's arrival. We also walled off a section of the game room in order to make another full bathroom downstairs for her as well and after prom night I had also taken to sleeping at our house most nights as well. My parents didn't complain. I guess by now they've realized that Seth is a man of his word and it was not going to be an issue.

Things were actually going great for everyone in my family. Nessie's pregnancy was moving along amazingly smooth. The baby was right on track growth wise and Ness was still absolutely glowing with her little baby bump just barely noticeable between her hip bones. Jake was so adorable with her too. He was constantly caressing her belly and bending over to talk to the baby. The only thing that didn't make her happy was the continuing obsession of the rest of the family to wait on her hand and foot. She often got angry and would yell that she was pregnant not disabled. It was kind of funny to see the normally even-tempered Nessie blow a gasket now and then.

Finally around mid June Nessie begged Jake to take her away for another short vacation, convincing him that they should travel as much as possible before the baby came making traveling more difficult. The truth was that she just wanted an escape from under the microscope of the Cullen family. They went back to Oregon to go visit some old college friends and then were planning on hopping up to Forks to visit Charlie and Sue. Charlie was a little wishy washy on the whole being a GREAT grandpa thing. On one hand he was really happy for her, but at the same time, he felt he was way too young to be a great grandpa. It was more than a little surprising when they came back with a houseguest.

Daniel Watson was a name that we had heard a lot during and after the time that Jake and Nessie spent in college. Right after they got married, Nessie and Jake attended Stanford University. Edward was so proud of his baby girl going to an Ivy League school that it was all we heard for two solid years. While they were there they made quite a few friends, but the one friend that they kept in contact with was Danny.

Over the years Danny had become a bit of an unofficial Cullen. During the years that they went to school together he used to come home with them for breaks and holidays and was one of those few humans that didn't seem to have the innate reluctance to spend time with my relatives. I'll never forget the first time they brought him home to visit. I was ten years old and as soon as he walked through the door I was smitten with my first crush ever. I remember staring at him with wide eyes as I took in the tall handsome boy with brown hair and blue eyes and a strong angular jaw. He wore glasses and I remember thinking that glasses were the cutest thing ever. I followed him around like a puppy dog the whole weekend they were back, going with them everywhere that they would allow me to follow. Edward, Jasper and Emmett got the biggest kick out of it and it was their favorite topic for teasing for many years after.

While I never really lost the crush completely, I eventually learned to appreciate from afar and develop a friendly relationship with Danny. By the time they graduated he called me Leeny, treating me like a little sister, and just like Jake got into the habit of giving me big bone crushing bear hugs whenever he would come to visit.

Unfortunately I wasn't aware that he was coming when they returned from visiting him in Portland and thus had no time to prep Seth, which wasn't such a good thing when they walked in the door the evening of July the second. Seth and I were sitting on the couch in the living room of the main house watching a movie with my family. We had developed regular movie nights and things of the sort in order to help me still spend time with my family since I seemed to spend most of my time at our house since school got out. I had just gotten up from the couch to go get another drink and was halfway to the kitchen when the door opened and I heard familiar voices booming behind me. I turned around to see Danny standing in the doorway with his mouth hanging open and his arms stretched wide. Before I had time to react he had crossed the few feet that separated us and had me wrapped in his arms and lifted off the floor.

"Leeny! Wow! Look how grown up you are! You're absolutely beautiful!" He boomed as he placed a kiss on my cheek before finally sitting me back on my feet. I heard a low rumbling growl rising from the living room and then I felt the sensation of calm spread throughout the room like a blanket a half second later.

"Danny!" I said with a smile looking back up at him. He was nearly as tall as my Seth and was still grinning from ear to ear. "It's great to see you again!" I stood there staring at him marveling at the fact that the boy that was once my first and most everlasting crush held no real draw for me anymore. I mean he was still cute, actually even better looking now that he was older and no longer wore his glasses, but I wasn't drooling over him anymore nor did I feel the need to attempt to get invited along for everything they were planning on doing during their trip.

I was just about to turn and introduce him to Seth when I felt his warm arms wrap around my waist from behind. I glanced over my shoulder to see what Seth had a smile on his face, but it was very forced and didn't even come close to reaching his eyes. Danny glanced at him a second with confusion and then understanding flooded his face as he took a step back.

"You must be the fiancée I've heard so much about. It's nice to meet you. I'm Danny Watson." He held out his hand to Seth who reluctantly let go of my waist in order to grasp his hand for a quick shake as he nodded firmly in recognition.

I turned around to face Seth and looked him in the eye with a twinkling smile attempting to reassure him that he had nothing to worry about and then hugged my arms around his waist and cuddled to his side. "This is My Seth, Danny." I sighed still keeping my eyes locked with Seth's. I felt him relax a little in my arms.

"Wow, look at you. The last time I saw you, you were what? Fourteen? And now you're all grown up and engaged!" He smiled warmly at me, exuding nothing but brotherly type affection. "I'm happy for you, but I do hope you're not giving up on 'the plan'," he said using air quotes with the last two words.

I rolled my eyes, "No Danny, I'm not giving up on 'the plan'," I said mirroring his actions. One of the many things that Danny and I talked about when we would all hang out was college some day and where I would go and what I would do. It became a sort of pact that I would be sure to go and not cop out like his sister had done. He was always disappointed because she married young and had kids right away and never went to college and when her husband ran off and left her for his secretary she was left to struggle on her own to raise her two kids with no help to speak of. He made me promise I would be sure to ensure that would never happen to me. "I fully intend to go to college, although I'm thinking I might get some of the core classes over with at the local community college and then transfer in. I can knock them out faster that way and save a little money while I'm at it."

"Smart thinking little sister…just remember to stick with it and not give up. That and _use birth control_!" He glanced up at Seth with an over protective brotherly glare. Seth finally loosened up at that point and started to chuckle and I joined right in with him. Danny looked at me with a confused expression and before I got a chance to answer Edward spoke up from behind Danny.

"It's not a problem for those two. They're going to be waiting a while yet before it's an issue and even then Lina has been planning on having those bases covered until after she's out of college ever since the plan was put into place."

Danny turned with a warm smile, "Edward! How's it going man?" He walked around hugging each of my family members, taking extra time to say hello and talk to my parents whom he believed to be Nessie's parents as opposed to her grandparents.

"Wow, whatever fountain of youth formula you guys have, you need to market it and become millionaires, you guys haven't aged a bit!" He said shaking his head as he took in my immortal family members. I had an extremely hard time stifling the giggles that were brewing in my chest. If he only knew!

We visited a few more hours before Jake, Nessie, and Danny made their way back to their house and Seth and I walked back to ours. As soon as we were in the door Seth started in with the questions. I tried to explain the Danny situation as best I could and he seemed to understand. I turned to him and hugged myself to his chest looking straight up into his face as he looked straight down into mine.

"So…you were jealous of Danny huh?" I said winking up at him. He frowned back down at me as he took his hand and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.

"I couldn't help it. I just wanted to rip his arms off when he grabbed on to you like that. It's a good thing Jasper was there or I might not have been as well controlled as I was."

I giggled up at him and stretched up to my tiptoes to kiss him lightly. "You do understand now that he's like the fifth Cullen brother that I never had right? You have nothing to worry about."

He laughed, "Yeah, I figured that out the second he started lecturing us on birth control."

"Not that I need MORE brothers, but he's a good guy. If I were to have another brother, he would be the best you could hope for. But enough about Danny, should we run downstairs before bed and double check that we're thought of everything before Leah arrives tomorrow?"

He smiled and nodded before kissing me quickly and then taking my hand and leading me down to the basement. We scanned the newly appointed bedroom and new bathroom. He hugged my shoulders before we walked back out and kissed my forehead.

"Thank you for putting in so much effort for my sister. It means a lot to me that you would do this for her."

I looked up at him and frowned. "Hey, before too long she'll be my sister too. It's the least I could do for my new big sis!"

He looked down and kissed my pouty lips and then deepened the kiss before leaving trails of kisses down my jaw and to my earlobe. "You ready for bed?" He asked with a slightly husky sound in his voice. I looked up and nodded as he took my hand again and led me all the way up to our bedroom leading me to our bed where he took me in his arms and kissed me as he lay back and pulled me into the bed with him.

XOXOXOXOXO

I woke up the next morning to an empty bed. Seth had left before the sun rose to go get Leah from the airport, and I knew that they would be back pretty soon. I got up and quickly cleaned up for the day and rushed downstairs to wait. I meandered around the house straightening here and rearranging there just to have something to keep me busy and eventually forced myself to find a book to read and try to relax on the porch swing. Just about the time that I finally started getting into the story I heard the sound of tires on the gravel driveway that led back to our house. I looked up and smiled at the sight of Seth's blue Camry pulling up the lane.

I ran out to meet them as they came to a stop. I ran straight to Leah's door and opened it for her, giving her a big hug as soon as she was standing upright.

"Leah! I'm so glad you're finally here!"

"Hey Leeny." I frowned at her because she usually didn't call me Leeny.

"Sorry, I've been phasing a lot lately and basically all I've heard in my head for the past couple of months has been about Nessie, the baby, and you…"

I nodded in understanding, "And Jake's constantly calling me Leeny so it stuck. I get it."

She looked up toward the house and whistled and we led her in giving her the grand tour of the place. When we showed her our bedroom she turned to me and lifted her eyebrows questioningly. I shook my head in denial and she nodded knowingly. She knew that Seth wasn't one to break his promises, but she had to ask. It was actually kind of amazing that I went from being Leah's public enemy number one to being able to carry on a conversation without words, but somehow it was happening.

After showing her upstairs we grabbed her bags on our way down to the basement and showed her to her room and where her own bathroom was. She smiled at us with more warmth than I've ever really seen, but even here, surrounded by the love of Seth and I, the warmth never really reached her eyes. She was far more pleasant these days than she used to be, but poor Leah was still unhappy. It made me so sad to think of Leah being unhappy. We left her to get settled in and made our way back upstairs.

After she was situated the three of us had lunch together and then I needed to run over to the main house to work on some of the last minute planning and prep work for the next day's Independence Day barbecue. I gave Leah the option of coming along or resting up from her long trip and she opted to stay behind and relax with Seth.

I walked in to find chaos as everyone was running around trying to take care of last minute plans at faster than human speeds. As far as I could tell everything was in order and going according to plan. The meat had been marinated and ready to be cooked, the side dishes were already prepared and in the fridge, Emmett and Jasper had procured the professional level fireworks and set them up so that they would fire in succession for an impressive display after dark, and Alice had arranged for a stage with a sound system, live music, and a DJ for down times. I shook my head in awe at how much they had accomplished in just a few hours. There honestly was nothing left for me to do that they couldn't do much easier and in a fraction of the time. They told me that since it was also partially my birthday party that I was to go back home and visit with my guest and relax.

I slowly made my way back over to our house texting Nessie as I walked asking if they would be interested in hanging out for supper with Leah. Nessie texted back saying that they had taken Danny to New York City for the day to sight see and wouldn't be back until late tomorrow morning but would be back for the party and would love to take a rain check. I got back to the house to find Leah and Seth sprawled out in the living room asleep. I smiled and attempted to tiptoe my way upstairs without waking them up, but as I was walking past the couch Seth reached up and grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the couch to lie next to him.

"Let me guess, they already had everything taken care of and kicked you back out?" He whispered into my ear. I nodded and smiled before kissing him gently on the lips and snuggling into his neck.

I drifted off quickly and didn't revive until I heard Seth's warm voice by my ear attempting to wake me. It was late afternoon and so I suggested that we take Leah for a drive to check out the scenery.

"I've got an even better idea," Seth said, "How about we go to the valley and take a little wolf run?"

"Yes!" I yelled, "You up for it Leah?"

She looked at me and laughed, "Sure, if for nothing more than to experience you whooping and hollering first hand!"

I turned to Seth with a smile, "Been reminiscing about our run while phased huh?"

He kissed my nose, "Kind of hard not to, it's one of my best running memories ever."

We drove out to the valley and I waited while they walked into the woods and phased and then I followed them in packing their clothes into the backpack I brought along and climbed onto Seth's back. I was amazed at how fast Leah was as I watched her sprint out ahead of us. I also realized that Seth had taken a less direct route during our first run when we made it to the waterfall in less than six minutes.

I walked out into the clearing and waited for them to emerge after which I walked straight to Seth with a twinkle in my eyes, "You took the long way our first time we ran here didn't you? That took us a third of the time today than it did last time!"

He laughed and blushed a little, "You were just too cute, how happy you were and all excited, I had to keep going, I loved making you so happy."

I sighed with mock annoyance. "Well, I guess that's an excuse."

He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to sit on the blanket that Leah had already spread out for us to sit on. We just sat and listened to the roar of the waterfall just a few dozen feet away from us and watched the mist as it floated above us into the treetops and blowing across us cooling us slightly from the warm summer heat. It was nice to just sit and relax as I closed my eyes and took long deep breaths of the clean moist air and sighed.

We stayed until the sun was gone from the horizon and the stars dominated the huge black sky. It was beautiful and serene until it came time to run back to the car. I quickly discovered that while wolf runs felt like flying in the daylight, they felt more like careening dangerously through big hard tree trunks that felt as though they were barely missing us as we made our way back out. After the first minute or so I was finally so terrified that I buried my face in Seth's fur even if it meant risking heat stroke and closed my eyes tightly trying my hardest to relax and not be scared.

Once they were dressed, Seth walked back out to me with a chuckle that lingered somewhere between amusement and concern. "You okay Angel? I never expected you to get so scared of running at night. I'm sorry. But you know I'd never let you get hurt right?"

"Oh I know that sweetheart, but I couldn't see a dang thing, all I could feel was the tree trunks zooming by and the reaction was completely involuntary. I'm really sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. I'm the one who's sorry. You know sometimes you're so amazing that I forget that you don't have heightened senses like the rest of us."

"Well, not the eyesight anyway…" I mumbled under my breath.

Then both Leah and Seth turned and looked at me a little confused as I settled myself on the car roof. "Okay, I'll tell you, but you can't say anything okay?" They both nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Edward is the only one who knows this due to his power, but he's been kind enough to keep it to himself thanks to his honor code or whatever. I'm nowhere near wolf or vamp level, but I can hear better than most humans." They both looked at me in shock. "I'm not sure what the real extent of my capabilities really are, but I can hear normal conversations from the dining room of the main house to the top of the stairs, and if the voices are raised I can hear them in my bedroom. I can also keep up with them when they talk really fast most of the time."

They both stood there with their mouths open like I just told them I had a second head or something. I shifted self-consciously on the hood and then finally couldn't stand it anymore… "What?" I asked annoyed.

Seth answered still in a daze, "Angel, we can't even understand them when they talk fast, how can you?"

I smiled at him and ran a hand through his hair. "Babe, I've lived with them since I was four. I asked Edward about it one time and he said that he has a theory that maybe I'm an example of the whole nature versus nurture argument in the psychology field. You see most humans don't even come close to meeting their full potential, some can train themselves to do more advanced things, but most are never pushed and thus never achieve higher capabilities. Well, the venom in vamps allow their electrochemical impulses to travel faster and more efficiently, thus they see better, they hear and smell better, and they have higher and more attuned motor functions. I don't have the venom to make me any faster than human capability, but living amongst them has challenged and encouraged me to work at a higher capacity. Thus I hear better and I have faster reaction times like when I spar with Emmett and Jasper."

He stared at me for the longest time before a slow wide smile broke across his features. "I always knew you were special, I just never knew exactly how much. Why didn't you ever tell me this before?"

I looked down at my hands and studied them a bit before finally looking back up through my lashes. "I guess I was afraid you would think I was a freak or something."

He threw his head back and laughed loudly as did Leah, who I had actually nearly forgotten was standing there. "I turn into a giant wolf that is large enough to take you on rides through the forest and run a constant temperature of one-oh-eight and you're worried that I will think you are a freak?" I smiled slightly and nodded a bit as he laughed taking my face in his hands. "Oh I love you so much Angel! More than you'll ever know!"

He leaned forward and gave me a long kiss and for a second I forgot poor Leah was there again. Once I did remember I pulled back and looked over apologetically to find her smiling warmly at us still chuckling silently. After a few more minutes we climbed back in the car and made our way back to the house where we cleaned up and turned in for the night right away, exhausted by the long day and looking forward to the festivities of the next.

_**Author's Note: Okay guys, I guess I didn't quite make it to the party yet after all. I was already up to 7 pages in word and knew that by the time I was done it would be at least double that…so you guys get the days leading up to it now and the party will hopefully be posting in the next day or two. **_

_**Also I now have links to pictures of most of my main original characters now…so go to my profile and check them out…and those of you that already saw the ones I posted before the "fake out" chapter, I will be adding some new ones for the new character in this chapter and there will also be a new character in the next that you'll want to check out...**_

_**Thanks Mel for catching my big oopsie!**_

_**Thanks again for reading and reviewing. You guys as always rock!**_


	10. Lots and Lots of Fireworks

**10. Lots and Lots of Fireworks**

An incredibly annoying sound awoke me from my blissful sleep as I lay there curled comfortably in Seth's embrace under the window air conditioning unit that continually ran on high all night during the summer months to keep me from having a heat stroke while sleeping in Seth's arms. The body heat was wonderful in the winter, but in the heat of the summer it made being even the slightest bit intimate contact incredibly difficult. I groaned and reached over for my cell phone as it cheerfully chirped the ringtone that I had chosen for Alice. Normally it made me smile since it's light tinkling tune reminded me of my sister's personality, but at this time of the morning, with the sun still not even fully risen from the horizon, it made me want to throw my phone out the bedroom window and into the pond.

"What Alice?" I groaned not even attempting to mask my annoyance.

"It's party day, aren't you up yet?" she crowed far too cheerily for such an early hour.

"No Alice, it's barely dawn and I was up pretty late visiting with Leah." I growled in response.

"Oh, well, sorry. But I need you to come over here. We've got to get you ready for the party."

"Alice, it's a outdoor barbecue in the middle of the summer…it's not like any beautification rituals will last more than fifteen minutes."

"Oh silly Lina, you know I'm always prepared. Just get over here and stop wasting time. I have a ton left to do before the party and I want to get you sorted first."

A deep growl escaped my chest again before I responded, "FINE, I'll be there in five minutes."

"Good…and Lina….I think you've been spending too much time with wolves…you're starting to growl just like them!" Her jingly laugh floated from the receiver of my cell phone.

In spite of my exhaustion and annoyance, a small chuckle vibrated my chest in response to Alice's observation. "Five minutes Al." I giggled before hanging up the phone and reaching up to turn off the air conditioner.

"Do you really have to go?" Seth whined from behind me on the bed.

"It's Alice sweetie, do you really think that I have a snowballs chance in hell of getting out of going over there? I might as well get it over with."

He groaned a deep rumble that filled the room and I began to chuckle again at Alice's comment. I looked over and a crooked smile was on his lips as well and I knew that he must have heard what she had said thanks to his lovely wolf hearing.

I quickly threw on some faded jean shorts and an old loose tank top and made my way downstairs only to find Leah was already awake and sitting at the dining room table drinking a cup of coffee and staring out the back windows toward the pond. I was pleased to see that she was relaxing in her pajamas and the guest robe I had bought for her stay. I greeted her and asked if she'd like to come along, pretty certain of what her answer would be. She of course declined and I told her to be sure to keep making herself at home and made my way out the front door and down the path to the main house. My hand had barely touched the back door handle when the door yanked open before me and I was quickly pulled into the house and toward the staircase as Alice ranted full speed.

"You said five minutes, and it's been six and a half," she carried on at vampire speed as she led me up to her bathroom, "I swear I have half a mind to just let you wear those ratty shorts and tank top today."

"Hey, I like my shorts thank you." I responded not really thinking about the fact that I should not have heard what she said. She stopped in her tracks and stared at me for a second and I shot her a "what" look.

Finally she pulled me the rest of the way into her bathroom and told me to hurry and shower. Afterward she primped and dried and painted and did all of her Alice things and when she was done I was sitting there in a curly ponytail that actually had enough spring to the curls to keep my hair off of my neck, which would be a major blessing during the heat of the day. I smiled as I looked at the results in the mirror. It wasn't an overdone thing, but rather just enough…a cute blue halter top, designer of course, but very modest and unassuming, a pair of short red cargo shorts and a pair of comfy blue sandals. It was actually kind of funny because I was just pale enough that I ended up resembling the American flag, but in a good way. Leave it to Alice! I had very little makeup on since it would just melt off anyway, but after slathering various forms of UV protection to all of my exposed skin, Alice added a little powder and some color on my face and I was done. It was actually one of the least painful Alice makeovers yet.

I turned to her and smiled, "Thank you Alice, it will be perfect for today and thank you so much for the hair…this will be much cooler."

"You're welcome, now never doubt me again." She replied with a half smile and narrowed eyes.

"Yes fairy godsister." I replied with an equally devious grin before making my way back down to the back door and across the forest to find Seth and Leah.

I walked in the front door to find Leah still sitting where I had left her forty minutes before and Seth had joined her as they laughed together staring out into the distance and drinking their coffee. A part of me wanted to try to slink back out and give them some alone time, but I knew that they had already heard me so I might as well go join them. I had only made it a couple more feet into the house when Leah turned around and whistled at me as she shook her hand as though she had just touched something hot.

"Nice digs Leeny," she smiled slyly, "maybe I should let those sisters of yours fix me up after all."

I threw my finger up to my lips shaking my head and giggling, "Shhh Leah, be careful, if Alice even gets a hint that you said something like that you will be subjected to Alice's makeovers for the rest of the month!"

We both laughed and I looked over at Seth who was still sitting there with his coffee mug half way between the table and his mouth staring at me. I furrowed my brow and gave him an anxious look and he finally shook his head a little and set the cup back down on the table as a wide smile spread across his mouth.

Leah laughed and poked him in the side with her elbow, "What happened little brother? Get lost in your own little fantasies?"

He blushed as his eyes darted to hers nervously before he reached over and began nudging her back leading to a full out elbow war. I laughed at them and waited for the flailing arms and bony elbows to relax before making my way to an empty seat at the table and pulling it to sit next to Seth's and facing it so I could look out at the view. Seth smiled and stretched his arm around my shoulders rubbing the top of my arm and shoulder in light tender circles. We relaxed another hour or so before Seth and Leah went to get ready for the day's events and I made my way back over to the main house to check in one last time before the guests were supposed to arrive.

The first to show up were of course my group of school friends. They still hadn't been out to see the new house yet, so I invited them to come an hour early to hang out and get a tour. They pulled up to the main house and all stared in awe at the tables and stage and the band doing their warm ups and mic checks. I laughed at their reactions as I led them over to the path leading to the house that Seth and I shared. Their reactions upon first seeing the house were hilarious. Every single one of them froze in place with glazed eyes.

"This house is for you and Seth?" Malia asked in awe.

"Yeah, technically it's still just Seth's, but eventually it will be ours and we'll keep it for when we come back to visit during college until my parents decide to move and then we'll sell it."

"It's really nice." Connor mumbled as we walked toward the front door.

They walked in the front door to find Seth and Leah sitting on the couch talking and Seth looked up and greeted them all. I introduced them all to Leah and showed them the rest of the house. Every single boy in the group couldn't seem to keep their eyes off of Leah. For a girl so desperately lonely, she really did get quite a bit of attention, even from the boys of the group that were completely devoted to their girlfriends. Unfortunately this immediately put Leighton and Malia on the defensive and they never really did warm up to Leah the rest of the day, which was a real shame.

I led them on a tour of the house and they continued to ooh and ahh as I showed them the various features and ultimately ended up in the basement where the boys immediately glommed on to the large screen TV and gaming consoles and were pretty much immovable until lunch. Eventually Seth and Leah came down and joined them. I got a kick out of watching the boys struggle and fight as Leah easily kicked their butts at almost every game that they put in. It didn't take long before they started treating her less like a hottie and more like one of the guys.

The time passed quickly and after a lot of coercion and promises that they could return after the food if they really wanted to, we finally got the boys to leave the basement and head back over the main house to enjoy the festivities. I was happy to see Connor and Leah had hit it off and were walking together talking quietly. It was a nice comfortable discussion and reminded me quite a bit of how he interacted with me.

We cleared the last row of trees to see that quite few guests had arrived while we were at the other house. I had invited my friends and a few of my classmates, including Amy and Danya to the party. It was Seth's idea. He had something up his sleeve to pay them back for how they had acted at prom, but I had no idea what he had planned. It made me more than a little nervous to be quite honest. I didn't like the idea of my Seth stooping to revenge and I knew that hurting me would be just about the only action anybody could do to get that kind of a response from him. But then again knowing Seth, I was sure it wouldn't be cruel or unjust. I just had to wait and see.

My father also invited some of his coworkers and their families and so we were expecting quite a large gathering. There were already quite a few families milling around the yard and my parents were front and center welcoming all of their guests. The place almost looked like the party they threw when I was turned six, except with a wider range of entertainment.

On the large lawn in front of the house there were moon bouncers and face painters and a cotton candy vendor. It was practically kid world and the kiddies were eating it up. Behind the house at the far back edge of the property was the stage where the band was set up and ready to go and the DJ was currently spinning some dance songs to keep the energy up. While the little ones migrated instantly to the front yard, the teen population of the party was gathered in front of the stage dancing and laughing. My friends instantly migrated toward the teen crowd while Seth and I went over to talk to my parents and check in with Alice.

"Hello there darling," my mother called to me smiling warmly and reaching out to give me a hug. "What do you think of the party?"

"It's amazing Mom, you and Alice really outdid yourselves this time. It's fantastic!"

"And according to Alice it should be just right all day long, no actual rainfall, but a sufficient cloud cover that we won't have to worry about anything else either." My father chimed in as he leaned forward from his spot next to my mother to place a kiss on my forehead.

Before I could continue the conversation Alice bounded over and grabbed both Seth's and my hand pulling us away from my parents and leading us toward the stage. Before I had a chance to ask what she was doing we were standing in front of the lead singer of the band, a tall lanky stereotypical looking rocker wearing leather pants and an open shirt. She introduced us and left us to talk to him as she wondered off to deal with more party details and this is when I found out that Alice had arranged for me to sing a song with the band during the course of the afternoon. I was suddenly in a panic being taken so off guard by the whole situation. I had never dreamed that she would pull something like this and besides that I had no chance to practice with the band or anything. All I could think was that this was a recipe for disaster.

Seth worked to calm me and spotting my friends motioned for them to come over and take me to get something to drink and help me chill out while he stayed behind to speak to the lead singer. I sat at a table surrounded by my friends with a death grip on the bottle of water in my hands.

"I can't do this guys! I can't just get up in front of all of these people and sing! What in the heck was Alice thinking?!"

"Leen, how is this any different from the play?" Connor asked. "I mean you don't even have to pretend that you're someone else here."

"But that's just it Connor, I was getting to pretend to be someone else. It's a lot easier to put yourself out there when it really isn't you…ya know? Besides, with the play I got to practice and rehearse and perfect it before I had to be in front of a bunch of strangers. This is totally different!!!!"

"Lina, you can do this," Malia encouraged confidently with her hand on my arm. "You have a great voice and the band seems professional enough that they're probably really good. It'll sort of be like karaoke but less lame."

"Yeah, you can get up there and be a total rocker chick! I can see that!" Leighton joined in.

"Oh no…no I can't." I sat with my face in my hands shaking it back and forth and then a thought crossed my mind. "Wait…you guys seem all gung ho about it. Why don't you come up with me? We can sing together and have fun. Then maybe it wouldn't be so bad."

"Oh no, no, no, no." Malia chanted while Leighton sat next to her saying, "Sweet, Yes! That would be so fun!"

I looked at the two of them and laughed. It still tickled me how two such opposite girls could become such good friends.

"Let's go back to Seth's house and figure out what we can sing and practice." I mumbled quickly pulling them out of their chairs and pulling them toward the path leading to the house. "Guys, can you please tell Seth where we are when he comes looking for us?"

"Sure" Lucas called back to us as we ran quickly across the path and went straight to my music collection in the basement scanning for anything that the band might know that would be acceptable. Twenty minutes later we returned to the party with our chosen song and a general game plan to share the musical burden. We conferred with the lead singer who seemed to be pleased by our choice and returned to join our boys just as the food was being served.

I was so nervous about the whole singing thing that it was keeping me from enjoying the food. Suddenly my nerves had my insides twisted into a giant lead ball. Seth kept rubbing my back gently and encouraging me that it would all be fine. Before I knew it, the time had come for the band to come on stage and we were up to bat. My father addressed the rather large crowd before the band took the stage.

"Good Afternoon everyone! Thank you so much for coming out to join us today for the festivities and fun. Please feel free to make yourselves at home, there's plenty of food and drinks for everyone to enjoy. We pulled out all the stops this year making it a dual celebration of the holiday and our daughter Lina's seventeenth birthday, and since we can't seem to throw her a birthday party without finding the best possible way to embarrass her, her sisters have worked it so that Lina and her friends will be entertaining us with a song in collaboration with today's band. Please feel free to welcome on the stage Lina, Leighton, and Malia, along with the band Broken Silence!"

He led the crowd in applause as we slowly made our way to the center of the stage. The music to Joan Jett's I Love Rock And Roll started and my throat felt so tight that I was sure that when I opened my mouth nothing would come out. My eyes locked for a second on Seth standing with his sister and our guy friends in the audience and he smiled a warm encouraging smile that relayed that he knew I could do it, and suddenly my fears melted and I felt a bit more empowered. I looked to my right and left smiling at Leighton and Malia and then opened my mouth to begin the first verse with a smile as I instinctually began swaying and swaggering to the beat.

_I saw him dancin' there by the record machine  
I knew he must 'a been about seventeen  
The beat was going strong  
Playin' my favorite song  
An' I could tell it wouldn't be long  
Till he was with me__**, yeah me**__  
An' I could tell it wouldn't be long  
Till he was with me__**, yeah me**__ singin'_

The girls joined me for the "yeah me" and the chorus. And I ended the first half of the song with a loud enthusiastic "OW" which led to cheers from the audience and a wide proud smile from Seth. Thankfully the next verse was for the other two girls so my freezing in surprise didn't hurt the flow of the song and slowly began to dance again with the next verse.

Malia took over the first half of the second verse and Leighton took over the second half .

_He smiled so I got up an' asked for his name  
That don't matter, he said,  
'Cause it's all the same_  
**Said can I take you home  
where we can be alone  
An' next we were movin' on  
He was with me**_**, yeah me**__  
_**Next we were movin' on  
He was with me, **_**yeah me**_**, singin'  
**

We all joined in together for again for the "Yeah Me"s and the chorus through the end dancing and having fun the whole time. It was scary, but we really truly had fun. I was so glad that they had gotten up with me to do it and so incredibly surprised when our performance was received with cheers and wolf whistles. I glanced at Seth just in time to see him reach his hand to his mouth and whistle into the air again. I smiled widely at him and blew him a kiss. The second I got off the stage I ran forward into Seth's outstretched arms and he picked me up in the air as he kissed my lips and spun me around.

"You were amazing Angel! Wow!" He kissed me again and then sat me back on my feet leaning forward to whisper in my ear as he did. "I've never seen anything more sexy in my life. Seriously I was having a major sunshine issue for a while there!" I leaned back to look at him with wide eyes and he chuckled at me with a twinkle in his eye before reaching back down to kiss me once more.

The band took center stage and began to play and I jumped up and down when I realized that they were a 90's cover band! While the rest of the kids my age seemed less than enthused about the band's set list, the adults seemd happy and I was ecstatic. I pulled Seth to stand with me right in front of the stage and jumped up and down and danced as they carried on with songs from Bush, The Goo Goo Dolls, The Offspring, Stone Temple Pilots, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and it went on and on. Seth kept rolling his eyes and laughing at me, but every time he looked at my face he would get a goofy grin and hug me close or kiss the top of my head. I knew that even if he wasn't enjoying the music so much himself, he was enjoying watching me enjoy it.

I was amazed at how long the band played. Three hours later they were finally beginning to wind down their last set. I hated to see them go. I was enjoying it all too much to see it end. Just before the last song Leah found us and stood with us and then Seth asked me to excuse him and promised to return quickly. I felt a small pout form on my face as the band's last song ended and then I heard a familiar voice come over the speakers.

"Uh,uh Angel, no pouting just yet." I looked up with surprise to find Seth standing at the microphone. "There's one more surprise sweetheart. I love you. This one's for you."

The band began to play Aerosmith's I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing and Seth looked down at me and locked his eyes with mine, never looking away as my eyes began to brim with tears. Then his beautiful brassy voice began to sing the first verse and the tears let go, but I didn't care. I didn't even bother to wipe them away. I just stood there smiling up at my beautiful Seth.

_I could stay awake just to hear you breathing  
Watch you smile while you are sleeping  
Far away and dreaming  
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender  
I could stay lost in this moment forever  
Well, every moment spent with you  
Is a moment I treasure_

As he finished the first verse I took a deep breath, suddenly realizing that my chest was aching from the lack of oxygen. I couldn't help it though. He was so beautiful and perfect up there, I felt as though Angel should be his nickname and not mine. The lead singer of the band joined up as backup for the chorus and harmonzied with Seth too perfectly for this to be a spur of the moment decision. I narrowed my eyes in a slight accusation with a crooked smile and Seth beamed back at me and nodded slightly. Sneaky gorgeous boy!

_I don't wanna close my eyes  
I don't wanna fall asleep  
'Cause I'd miss you, babe  
And I don't wanna miss a thing  
'Cause even when I dream of you  
The sweetest dream will never do  
I'd still miss you, babe  
And I don't wanna miss a thing_

As he was finishing the chorus he reached his hand down and pulled me up to stand next to him on stage. If I hadn't been completely enveloped in our own little bubble land, I probably would have been embarrassed or self conscious to be standing in front of the scores of guests at the party, but I didn't even notice. I just stood there, tears still streaming down my cheeks as he looked into my eyes and sang, reaching up to wipe the tears off for me halfway through the next verse.

_Lying close to you  
Feeling your heart beating  
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming  
Wondering if it's me you're seeing  
Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together  
And I just wanna stay with you  
In this moment forever, forever and ever  
_

I couldn't help myself anymore. As soon as he finished the second verse I reached up around Seth's neck grabbing the back of his head and pulling him down to me and kissing him passionately. Thankfully the lead singer saw what was happening and sang the melody of the chorus recognizing that Seth's mouth was going to be a little occupied. Suddenly a sea of whispered "awe"s and "how sweet"s reached me and I realized that we were still on stage and he was still in the middle of his song. I pulled away but still stood in front of him holding his free hand and Seth smiled down at me lovingly placing two small kisses on my nose while the lead singer finished the chorus before beginning the bridge.

_I don't wanna miss one smile  
I don't wanna miss one kiss  
Well, I just wanna be with you  
Right here with you, just like this  
I just wanna hold you close  
Feel your heart so close to mine  
And stay here in this moment  
For all the rest of time._

_**Yeah, Yeah, Yeah**_

The lead singer once again joined him for the yeahs and Seth pulled me to his side held me close as he finished the song singing straight down into my face. When the song was finally over he replaced the microphone on it's stand and held me in his arms and kissed me as the crowd of guests cheered. I finally turned to look out at the crowd and my eyes grew wide as I realized that all of the people had filtered in from the front lawn and various other places on the property and were now a sea of people filling the entire lawn between the stage and the house. I blushed in reaction to the fact that so many had witnessed our exchange on stage and Seth just chuckled at my side before leading me over to thank the lead singer for all of his cooperation and then leading me off the stage.

"So how long have you been planning this one?" I finally asked after dragging Seth behind the stage for a little more appreciative kissing for being the sweetest fiancee ever.

"Um…about a month. I've met up with the guys a few times to practice." I shook my head at him smiling and then my eyes narrowed.

"Did you know Alice was going to make ME sing?"

"No way! No, I promise you, I would have warned you on that one. I know you would much rather have been more prepared…but you did an amazing job without it!"

"Better have told me if you knew," I muttered under my breath making him laugh before I grabbed him and kissed him once more, being especially sure that he knew exactly how appreciative I was.

After a while Seth leaned back and smiled at me, "So do you think that was proof enough for the wicked witches to get the point about us?"

"Was that why you invited Amy and Danya?" I asked with mock shock.

He laughed and nodded his head and I smiled and leaned back up being sure to give him a little extra appreciation. "Yeah, I think the point was finally driven home today. If not then they're entirely too dense to be allowed to graduate high school!" I whispered before pulling his lips back down to meet my own.

After a few more minutes of back stage hero worship we finally emerged into the crowd again looking for Leah and the rest of our friends. It took us a long time to make it through the crowd due to everyone stopping to compliment us on our performances during the afternoon. I blushed each and every time someone turned their praises to me. Seth just smiled appreciatively and then moved on as soon as it was possible to do so without being rude. Finally we managed to run across Edward who led us out of the crowd and out to my waiting family who met us both with proud smiles. They gave us both hugs and passed us around as the DJ began spinning up the dance party portion of the afternoon and the teens once again were left to congregate alone in front of the stage.

I looked around and finally realized that I hadn't seen Jake or Nessie yet. When I asked Edward he explained that they encountered car trouble on the way home and were running late, but should arrive in time for the fireworks. I was so disappointed that they had missed out on all of the fun. Jake would have really gotten a kick out of my Joan Jett impersonation.

"Oh, don't worry," Edward whispered in my ear with a crooked smile, "it was immortalized on video. They'll see it later on tonight."

I blushed as a nervous giggle erupted from my chest and then smiled and shook my head. "Please tell me you got Seth's serenade too…"

It was his turn to roll his eyes, "Of course, I'm burning you a copy as we speak."

I laughed out loud then and thanked him before turning back to Seth, Leah, and my friends. The girls and I were hungry since we hadn't had much for lunch and teen boys are always hungry, so we got some leftovers and sat at a table eating and talking before finally making our way back down into the dancing crowd that had gathered in front of the stage.

After we joined the group by the stage we all danced together and occasionally in couples, with Connor and Leah pairing up at times as well. As the afternoon progressed and we worked our way through the crowd we started bumping into people that we knew from school and various other places. One of the girls that we bumped into was the daughter of one of my father's colleagues that lived in the nearby town of Bloomfield I had met her last summer while attending a faculty dinner with my family. Her name was Jenny Harrison and unlike most of the other doctor's kids I had met that night, she was very sweet and down to earth and we got along almost immediately. Jenny had long dark hair that always seemed straight and incredibly shiny with large dark eyes with a small dainty nose and a heart shaped face. She was only slightly taller than Alice and seemed to be swallowed by the sea of tall teens. I introduced her to the group and she seemed to suddenly grow very shy. She returned their greetings and blushed as I made my way around the group.

After that I made sure that I kept her in the conversations and made her feel comfortable as I noticed that she seemed kind of lonely in the crowd of kids who mostly came from our own school district. I was especially pleased to see that she and Connor seemed to hit it off quite nicely. After keeping a close eye on them for a half hour or so, I hinted to Malia and Leighton that we should try to give them some space and made our way back up to the beverage table to get some waters and cool off. The rest of the evening we never saw either one of them without the other nearby and they often shared sweet smiles and private whispers. I smiled at the thought that maybe she would be just the girl that could finally help Connor move on and be happy again.

Finally the day began to fade and darkness began to close in on the forest surrounding our houses. There was plenty of light in the back yard due to the lanterns and torches lining the yard on all sides and draping overhhead on strings. Leah and Seth left to run to our house to grab some blankets to sit on for the display that Emmett and Jasper had excitedly run off to begin. Seth returned to my side shortly after and began to lay out the blankets. He said Leah was coming right back after she finished the phone call with their mother that she received while they were at the house.

Just then I heard a familiar voice bellow my name from behind me and I turned to see Danny, Nessie, and Jake approach where we were from the front of the house. I stood up and ran over to them, teasing them about how much they had missed out on during the day and joked with them as I asked about their trip and what Danny thought about New York.

We stood for a while talking before finally deciding to make our way over to the blankets to get seated after we heard the first boom from deep in the woods signaling the beginning of the display and someone shut off the lanterns leaving only the torches lining the sides of the yard to emit dim light along it's borders. We walked toward the blanket and were nearly there when the first sparks lit the sky in a shower of red that illuminated the entire yard. It was then that I saw Leah had just made it back to our blanket and was facing our group and in the glowing red of the fading sparks I saw the look on her face was one of shock and amazement. Just as the red completely faded from the sky a silver fountain exploded above us illumiating the scene more vividly and I turned to look behind me to see Danny's gaze was fixed on Leah as well. Seth looked up and took in the scene and turned to meet my gaze as the silver sparks overhead were replaced with a purple and a blue. We both recognized what had happened and we smiled.

Finally after the realization of what had happened dawned on me I turned and began introducing Leah to Danny. They both were uncharacterically shy around one another and I swore I saw Leah blush. I encouraged them to both sit by me as I completely ignored the flash of colors above me and led them in a conversation helping them to ease past the nerves that they both seemed to have instantly developed. It didn't take too terribly long before their conversation began to take on a life of it's own and they excitedly talked amongst themselves, completely oblivious to the fireworks streaking through the sky above them. I couldn't blame them for not noticing because to be totally honest the fireworks flying between the two of them were far more fascinating than those in the sky for me as well.

I scooted over and leaned back against Seth's chest tipping my head back to get a kiss from him before whispering in his ear with a low snicker, "I told you he'd make a great fifth brother some day."

He smiled down at me and kissed my forehead before we lay on our backs to watch the endless procession of the finale's colors explode in the sky painting it with a sea of multi colored glitter that slowly faded into darkness.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Well there you go guys. You finally get your answers. Leah imprinted on Danny which is actually better since he's closer to her own actual age…plus we already know he's a really great guy and already another big brother type figure in Lina's life. Yeah!!! And there's another possible love interest for Connor now, I'm not telling if she'll be the one to help him get over Leighton, but things are looking up for him at least! :D I hope you didn't find the songs too cheesy, but I wanted to do something fun and make Lina stretch a little out of her comfort zone again and I really wanted Seth to find a good way to really stick it to the snot squad girls for what they did to Lina at Prom and make sure there's no mistaking what their relationship is based on. Let me know what you thought about them!**_

_**Okay, so I figure most of you have probably heard those songs before, but since some of my readers are from other countries I will be putting links on my profile page shortly for Joan Jett's I Love Rock and Roll and Aerosmith's I Don't Want To Miss A Thing. As always, I don't own the rights to these songs or any of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer's original characters. **_

_**Please read and review and I'm looking forward to your thoughts and opinions!!! And thanks for your continued support!!!**_


	11. Confessions

**11. Confessions**

After the last of the fireworks faded from the sky, our guests quickly disappeared from our property leaving only my friends and my family behind. Connor followed soon after excusing himself to drive Jenny home. Her parents had a prior engagement and had plans to leave before the fireworks so Connor offered to escort her home after the show. They were so adorable all night as they shyly maneuvered around one another, occasionally stealing sweet glances of longing when the other wasn't looking. I had high hopes for that pairing.

The rest of my friends insisted on helping with some of the clean up duties, so we all walked around gathering trash from the grass and talking about the events of the night. Their favorite topic of conversation though was the crowd's reactions to our musical premieres.

I was more than a little annoyed when the story came out that during the time that the girls and I had gone to our house to pick out our song for the performance Danya had decided to take the opportunity to make her move on Seth while I was not around to 'cling on him like he were about to disappear' as she had so smugly suggested on prom night. My annoyance was quickly replaced with glee and pride in Seth when the boys continued with the story detailing how Seth so smoothly expressed his lack of interest and completely ignored her. Then the glee turned to raucous laughter when they explained how she responded with a look of total shock just before she literally fell out of her chair while trying to reach over to play with Seth's shirt seductively.

Then they went on to detail how both Amy and Danya were verbally bashing Leighton, Malia, and I during our performance on stage making sarcastic comments and gagging noises. The laughter continued to roll on as they reenacted their reactions when my soon to be sister in law took it upon herself to intimidate them with a dirty look which was immediately followed by my brother Emmett standing behind them and not so subtly letting them know that if the entertainment was not up to their standards they could most certainly get in their cars and go home. My smile must have been glowing brighter than the lanterns as I shook my head and reminded myself that I really needed to give my brother a big bear hug later on.

The absolute best part though was when they finally described their reactions to Seth's serenade. To be honest I was so lost in my own little world with Seth, that I didn't notice anyone or anything, but the girls then took over the story as they pulled us all over to the exact place that Amy and Danya had stood during the performance and reproduced their every expression and action during the song. I was rolling on the ground with tears in my eyes by the time they were finished because their bodies went from crossed arms and smug indignation to resembling something more like the painting The Scream and then a jealous sort of sneer as they turned around and stomped back to the car like two year olds throwing temper tantrums. Finally Seth came over and pulled me up off the ground laughing as he wiped my tears from laughing away and gave me a sweet kiss.

"Mission accomplished," he whispered with a wide smile on his face as he pulled me in for a gentle hug before walking with me to go bid my friends goodbye. As they drove away we slowly made our way back to our house to turn in for the night.

The next morning we awoke to find Leah and Danny sitting at our dining room table still dressed in their clothes from the night before and drinking coffee while taking in the view of the pond. We joined them and discovered that they had ended up sitting out in our gazebo and talking all night long after the fireworks ended. After the initial awkward exchanges they fell together as if they had always known each other. I was so pleased to see that suddenly there was a light in Leah's eyes that I had never seen before and Seth was so pleased that I thought I was going to have to fit him with a pair of cement boots to keep him from floating away. He later told me that he hadn't seen her look like that in over eighteen years.

Needless to say, I didn't get quite as much bonding time with my future sister in law as I had hoped for in the weeks that followed, but since my bigger goal was to help her find some happiness, I was definitely fine with that. Danny rearranged his plans in order to stay a couple of weeks longer to spend more time with Leah and they spent every possible minute together that they could.

Even though Leah was ecstatic, she was still so nervous about what Danny would think when he eventually learned the truth about her and what had happened between them. I had a sneaking suspicion that he would handle it all much better than she feared considering how well he existed in the presence of my family for all of these years, even if he didn't know the truth. The day that we sat him down and explained everything to him about both Leah, Seth, and Jake, as well as the Cullen's, he was understandably shocked and completely dazed, and kept looking around like he was waiting for someone to come out and tell him he as being punk'd.

"So, wait…what about Lina?" he finally asked as the realization hit him that I wasn't like any of the rest of the family members in the room.

"I'm a regular old run of the mill human, and Bella's biological half sister. They adopted me when our Mom and my Dad died and there was nobody else to take me in."

"Lina, I'd hardly call you run of the mill. But it is nice to know that at least somebody was actually what I believed they were all of these years."

I smiled, "Yep, that's me…the dorky adoptive sister to all!"

We all laughed and Seth reached over and hugged me around the shoulders while placing a kiss on my head.

Danny sat and looked into space a long time, seeming a bit lost in his own thoughts. I could see Leah's shoulders drop more with every passing second. Finally he ran his hands through his hair and over his face as he shook his head back and forth slowly. "I'm sorry; I'm just having a hard time making sense of all of this. None of it really seems real or possible. I…I just don't know how to react. I have so many questions, but I just don't know how to ask." He looked over at me with a furrowed brow and I had an epiphany.

"Hey Danny, would it help if we went for a ride? Maybe I can help you sort things out if I explain things from the point of view of a run of the mill human who's had many, many years to get a full understanding of this world."

He shot me a weak smile and nodded a little, so I continued. "Okay, why don't you go grab some water bottles and something for us to snack on from the kitchen and go meet me at my car? I'll be out in just a minute."

He nodded and I walked over to Leah while he collected the things I suggested from the kitchen to give her a hug. I took her shoulders in my hands and locked eyes with her. "This is going to be okay Leah. He's already taking all of this really well considering all he's just learned and I know he'll be okay. Just give us a chance to talk about everything and let me answer all of the questions that he doesn't want to ask in front of all of you okay? I've known Danny for a very long time. It's going to be fine, okay?" She nodded weakly.

Next I turned to the room and addressed everyone else. "Okay, I'm probably going to take him to the valley, just because it's a nice private relaxing place to talk. I know you'll send security, but here's my suggestion. First of all, no wolves…he needs to be able to talk about all the things he's feeling and going through and he deserves to work thorough that without it being shared across the pack mind." Seth and Jake nodded although I could tell that Seth didn't like the idea of not being nearby. "Secondly, no Edward, Alice, or Jasper for essentially the same reasons…and we probably need Alice to be here in case of emergency. Finally, whoever does follow us; I want you out of hearing range for our voices. I'll have my emergency whistle with me so if we do end up needing you I can let you know and you'll be close enough to come help, but yet we can still speak in private. Is this okay with everybody?" I looked around for anybody to disagree. Satisfied that everyone was in agreement, I walked over to Seth giving him a hug and a kiss and turned back to rub Leah's arm to comfort her again before turning to run out the back door to join Danny.

Thirty-five minutes later we were sitting on the retaining wall looking out over the valley with the food and water bottles laid out between us on the wall.

"Wow, beautiful view." Danny commented barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, this is my favorite place to spend time around here." I responded at the same volume before taking a big drink of my water.

"So, you lead a pretty interesting life huh?" I nodded weakly.

"How long have you known?"

"They adopted me when I was four and I knew pretty much right away. The only ones I would allow to touch me were Jake, Nessie, and Edward."

"I just can't wrap my head around it. Edward and Bella are Nessie's parents? Nessie just turned seventeen in September? Jake's actually thirty-four and Edward is over one hundred years old? And Jake turns into a giant wolf? It's like I'm going to wake up from a dream in a few minutes and totally laugh at myself all day for the weird things that I managed to make up in my head or something."

I laughed, "Well Dan, I hate to tell you this, but there won't be any waking up from this one. It's a lot to take in, I know. If I hadn't grown up with it, I'd probably not be able to process it myself."

"But how does it work, don't vampires kill humans?"

"Most do, they have a bloodlust and human blood is the most delicious for them, but my vamps are 'vegetarians'," I answered using air quotes, "they only hunt animals, which is why their eyes have that topaz hue."

"So, if they want human blood so much, how were they able to live with you in the house all the time?"

"Honestly I don't know how they did it. From what I've been told the smell of human blood makes their throat burn and constantly tempts them, but they claim that even though it was hard at first, eventually they didn't feel it anymore around me. Like they became immune over time thanks to their love for me or something." I shrugged not really understanding it all myself.

"Wow, well that's cool." He frowned for a minute running his hands through his hair again before sighing and looking at me again. "Okay, so your family is full of vampires who don't age and drink animal blood instead of human blood right?" I nodded before he continued, "And Nessie is some kind of vampire human hybrid?" I nodded again. "Who is pregnant with Jake's baby, and Jake, Seth, and Leah are all werewolves?"

"Well, technically they're more shape shifters. They aren't confined by the phases of the moon and are far more civilized than the actual children of the moon."

"So there are real werewolves like in the movies besides what Jake, Seth, and Leah are?" I nodded again as his eyes grew wide and he took in a deep breath. He swallowed with a loud gulp before continuing on.

"Okay, So the non Moon werewolves."

"I just refer to them as wolves myself to keep life slightly more simple." I interrupted.

"Okay, so the wolves, they can change whenever they want to or when they're really upset." I nodded. "And they are protectors of humans designed to keep them safe from vampires?"

I smiled and patted his shoulder comfortingly. "You really do have a better grasp on everything than you think. That's exactly right."

"So how come they are all chummy with the Cullen's?"

"They weren't originally, but thanks to my family's, um, dietary choices…and facing some common foes they eventually learned to work together, then when Jake imprinted on Nessie, it sealed the friendship because it's sort of an unwritten imperative that the pack could never do anything to hurt a member's imprint because it would destroy the pack member and ultimately the pack."

"So there are more out there besides Jake, Seth, and Leah?"

"Oh yeah, back on the reservation there is a rather large pack that is still growing actually I think last I heard they were back up to eighteen."

"And they don't age either? Jake still looks like he's in his early twenties."

"They don't age as long as they continue to phase, but once they give up their wolf form they will age normally again. Jake is going to keep phasing so he can stay with Nessie. Since she's half vamp she's not going to age any more beyond the age she appears to be now."

"So will Leah stay this age or will she grow older eventually too?"

"It all depends on her. She's been so unhappy throughout all of these years. None of the wolves chose this, but she's always had an especially rough burden thanks to all of this. First she lost her first love when he imprinted on her cousin and then shortly after that she became the first and so far only female to ever phase and since she tends to have a wee bit of a temper, she's never really been able to completely let go of the wolf inside her. She's held onto many years of pain and resentment over it all and she's been so sad and lonely. That's why I was so pleased when she imprinted on you because I know that you are a good guy and I can't think of anybody else who would treat her better and help her to learn to trust again. Seth says that since she's been with you, she's been happier than he's seen her in over eighteen years. This imprinting thing is major; you don't even know how much you mean to her. I can tell she loves you very much already."

"I love her too. I know it's crazy to say that after only knowing her for such a short amount of time, but I do. I think I started to fall for her the first minute I saw her, and then it didn't take very long at all before I was completely head over heels."

I smiled at him and hugged him around the shoulders. "I'm so happy for you Danny. Seriously, I love you and I love Leah and I know that you guys can have something totally amazing together if you can learn to accept the oddities of our lives."

Danny smiled at me for a little bit and then frowned slightly, "So then you and Seth, did you two go through this whole imprinting thing too then?"

I nodded as I reached over and picked up one of the apples that he had grabbed for us to snack on and spun it by its stem, "Yeah, but it was a lot simpler with us because well I already knew about the whole thing. I didn't have to struggle to accept it as reality because I've seen it all develop between Nessie and Jake. Actually, believe it or not, we fell in love first via phone calls and web chats, and since all he'd ever heard was that seeing a person's face led to imprinting, Seth thought that he would have imprinted on me from seeing my pictures and face on the web cam and since he didn't that it wouldn't happen, but then the first time he saw me in person it happened and we've been inseparable ever since."

He smiled at me warmly, "Well of course he fell in love with you first Leeny. You're an amazing girl. I find it hard to believe that you haven't had more guys falling all over you all of these years, but I'm glad that you found a good one early on. I wouldn't have liked to see you get hurt from kissing a bunch of frogs before finding your prince."

I smiled back, "Yes, I did find my prince, the question is do you think you can handle being Leah's?"

He ran his fingers through his hair again letting out a small groan, "I want to be Leeny, I really do. She's amazing! She's beautiful, smart, witty, and utterly unique. She's everything I ever wanted in a girl and I'm crazy about her, but all of this mystical stuff, it's just SO MUCH."

I put my arm across his shoulders and pulled him into a side hug before I looked over at him and smiled. "It sounds to me like you already have your answer though. Can you honestly say that now that you found her you can just let her go?" His eyes got wide as he shook his head no.

"The rest of it is all just shock, but the most important part is the fact that you love her and you can't see your life without her, right?" He nodded his head as he gulped.

"Then what the heck are you waiting for? You know she's going crazy worrying about what we're talking about and that you're going to break her heart."

He looked out over the valley for a second before his back straightened a bit before he stood up and turned to face me offering me his hand. "Well what are you waiting for then kid? Take me back to my girl."

I shot him a crooked smile as I jumped up and ran over to the car sliding behind the wheel and slamming the car into reverse and then speed shifting through the gears to get home as quickly as possible. I had to drive very cautiously on our way out to the valley in an attempt to not freak him out any more than he already was. He tensed a little in the seat next to me before I explained that this was normal for me and I was a very competent driver. He seemed to relax a little after that, but his leg began to bounce steadily the closer we got to the homestead.

As soon as I got the car stopped Danny was out of the passenger door and running up to the house. I followed closely behind and walked in just as he took the last step that closed the space between Leah and himself and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

"I love you Leah. You are everything I ever wanted in a girl. Basically you're my dream girl and honestly I don't care about all the other stuff. I just want to be with you. We'll figure the rest of it out as we go."

Leah melted into his arms as tears flowed down her face. "I love you too," she whispered just barely loud enough that I could hear from my place by the front door.

Seth crossed over to me and stood behind me wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. "Thank you," he whispered into my ear before placing a kiss on my cheek and then returning his gaze back to Leah and Danny.

I smiled and sighed as I watched Danny lovingly stroke her hair and whisper comforting things in her ear for a second before motioning that we should all give them some privacy. Seth and I turned to walk out the front door and make our way to our house when I heard Leah's voice behind me. I turned to look and she was standing behind me with a warm smile on her tear stained face that reached all the way up and twinkled in her eyes.

"Thank you Lina. I don't know if I can ever thank you enough."

She pulled me into a hug and when she let go I shrugged and smiled, "That's what sisters are for," I replied with a wink. She grabbed me again hugging me even harder and when she let go Seth and I left to walk to our property and instead of going inside the house we sat on the front porch swing and rocked together holding hands and watching the animals run and play amongst the trees.

"So, how is he doing?" Seth finally asked.

"He's struggling with the supernatural aspects of it all, but he really does love her. I think they're going to be just fine. They go back home in a few days and that's going to be when things will really get interesting for them. I have no doubt that they will figure it out though. I have faith." I whispered smiling up at him beside me. He looked back down at me and leaned over to give me a peck on the lips. I knew I was going to miss Leah, but I was so glad that she was going to be able to face going back home with a new hope. Her life had changed tremendously during her month with us and I sincerely hoped that it would be the final thing she needed to complete her life and make it what she really wanted it to be. Of all of the people in this world for her to possibly imprint on, I knew that she hit the lottery with Danny and once he got past his shock he would do everything in his power to make her happy too.

A few days later they flew back to the west coast together. I found myself crying as I watched them walk through the metal detectors and disappear from view still walking hand in hand. I smiled through my tears knowing that they really would be okay. Leah was going back to Portland with Danny for the work week so that he could get caught up on what he had missed at the office during his extended vacation and so she could meet his family and then the next weekend they were planning on going to La Push to introduce Danny to Sue, Charlie, and the pack. I had a sneaking suspicion that before too very long Leah would be making the move to Portland permanent. After all, what wolf could bear to be away from their imprint for any extended period of time?

I turned and smiled at Seth when I saw that he had tears in his eyes too. He looked down and smiled at me looking so incredibly happy. Finally all of the pieces of his life were fully aligned for the first time in eighteen years. I reached up and hugged him around the neck and he pulled me tightly against his warm body.

"Now life is perfect." He whispered in my ear. I kissed his cheek before taking his hand and leading him back toward the parking lot to find his car and make our way back home alone.

* * *

**_Author's Note: I am so excited guys…You are all such dedicated reviewers that I already have nearly half the total number of reviews for this story as I had for all of In The Shadow of the Day and I've only posted ten chapters so far! You guys rock!_**

_**This brings me to the next thing that I want to start doing. I saw this on another author's fanfic and thought it would be cool to do here too…although she was doing it for the 100**__**th**__**, 150**__**th**__**, 200**__**th**__** etc. reviewer as incentive for people to review. I don't care to try to bribe or ransom your reviews, so instead I'll just highlight my regulars. You guys are so great about supporting me that I want to send a shout out to all of you who keep coming back for more and reviewing for me providing me with feedback and encouragement. I'll pick one special repeat reviewer that have their own stories to be checked out every few chapters that I will have added to my favorite author's list and tell you guys a little about them and if you get some spare time, please do them a solid and go check out their works too. **_

_**So my very first featured reviewer is actually the wonderful lady who I met on twilightmoms .com and encouraged me to post what I had so far on ITSOTD and was my very first reviewer: Unofficial Cullen, aka Ness. She's a very creative writer who has two stories. They are both AU, the first being an all human that is focused around high school chorus with original characters and pairings. The second story is one of my favorites: Something Other. Bella is a tough as nails member of the Quileute tribe who is very special and Edward is inexplicably drawn to her. This time it's no longer the lion falling for the lamb, but now the lion falls for "something other". She also has a great one shot called Edward's Wish. Please take some time to check her out on my favorite Author's list and show her stories a little love! **_

_**Thanks again guys! I hope you like the chapter and thanks I advance for reviewing!**_

**_P.S. I just got a review that let me know I wasn't clear enough in the author's note above....If you want to read the stories posted by my featured reviewer, please go to my profile by clicking on my pen name link at the top of the page and then click on my favorite author's tab. Any featured reviewer will be on my favorite author's list so that you can go to their profile and link to thier stories from there. This way I won't have to clutter my profile with even MORE links and it gets them on a favorite author's list as well :D_**


	12. Bliss Trumps The Darkness

**12. Bliss Trumps the Darkness**

The rest of the summer disappeared in a heartbeat and I began my senior year with my friends. Thanks to my lack of social past, I had more than enough credits to graduate at the end of first semester, but my family and Seth wouldn't hear of it. They were all completely determined that I fully experience my last year of high school and not cheat myself out of any of it. Personally I felt it was a waste of my time. I had gotten the full experience during my junior year and this year would be quite similar minus the boyfriend drama since I was now deeply devoted to my soul mate and would no longer need to worry about that part of my life.

To my great joy, the nearby community college held courses at our high school during the week for advanced seniors and other members of the community, so instead of loading up on a bunch of electives that I didn't even need, I took three of the classes that they offered during the school day in order to get a head start on my college credits in addition to the senior level English and math courses I needed in order to graduate and the required fourth year of phys ed. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the college classes, especially the psychology class, and it made me really look forward to starting college in the fall.

The only negative to taking the college classes was that I didn't get to see quite as much of my friends, only having the time before school and lunch time to see them. They were still happily coupled off and to my great joy Connor and Jenny were great together. It sucked that they attended different school districts and didn't get to see one another on school days, but they spent most evenings and every weekend together. We often took time to go on quadruple dates and the more I got to know her while spending time with them, the more I really liked her. She was perfect for Connor in nearly every way and by the time Homecoming rolled around Connor confided in me that he loved her and he was the happiest he had ever been.

As time seemed to speed by for me, poor Nessie seemed to feel as though time was moving slowly. With each passing day her baby bump grew larger and larger. She was still absolutely ravishing, not that anyone could convince her of that. All she could ever talk about was swollen legs and ankles and the baby bouncing on her bladder or kicking her in the ribs. Jake was so good with her though, he followed her around complying to her every whim and waiting on her hand and foot, and now that it was more and more difficult for her to maneuver, she was more than happy to be waited on.

By the time that Thanksgiving rolled around we had already completed all of the childbirth classes to prepare for her delivery, my mother had happily designed and decorated the nursery which was ready and waiting for the baby to come by the end of December, and Rose and Alice had purchased enough designer baby clothes for both genders to clothe quadruplets for a year. After much debate, Jake and Nessie decided not to find out what the sex of the baby would be and let it be a surprise. They even refused to share the names they had picked out with any of us. I'm guessing Edward probably knew, but he wasn't sharing.

The coming baby wasn't the only excitement at the Cullen house though. Seth and I celebrated our first anniversary on the day that we imprinted one year before which was a little over a week before Thanksgiving. With the help of Alice, Seth managed to hijack me while fully decked out for a night on the town and swept me off to New York City for dinner and dancing. During dinner, to my delight, he asked me if I was ready to set the date for our wedding. We debated on a variety of dates including Christmas due to my adoration of the season, which I reluctantly vetoed because I didn't want to wait so long after turning 18 and I didn't want to be worried about wedding details during my first semester of college. Instead we decided to get married on the fourth of July. It seemed like the perfect choice giving us a little over seven months to plan and a month cushion on either side with no school to worry about during the final planning period and to go on a honeymoon afterward without having to rush back for the next semester to start.

When we came home and informed the family Alice began squealing and running around pulling magazines and binders, filled with ideas from various hiding places around the house. She had already composed theme ideas and possible venues and contingency plans for various seasons and types of weather. And just like that, all of my free time became lost in an Alice dominated world surrounded by dresses, linens, china, crystal, tulle, and taffeta. It was so bad that my parents declared Thanksgiving through New Year's Day a no wedding plan zone. I was so relieved and grateful to enjoy my favorite time of year in peace.

Thanksgiving was more fun than usual this year due to Nessie's insatiable appetite. Between Seth and Jake with their wolf metabolisms and Nessie's newfound love for all forms of human food we actually set a record for the first ever Cullen family feast that resulted in no leftovers. We all sat around the table the rest of the night just enjoying the company of each other, each of us cuddled up with our significant others as we tried to guess what Jake and Nessie would name the baby. Emmett started joking with them trying to think up names they could use if they followed Bella's example and mixed up names of our family members to form new names. I was rolling around in tears as Emmett yelled out names like Billyward, Bellasue, Emjasperlisle, and Esmalbellie. Bella however was not as pleased threatening to figure out a way to beat Emmett at arm wrestling again if he didn't watch it.

After dinner and spending some time with the family, Seth and I suggested we call and wish Sue and Charlie a happy Thanksgiving. We put Seth's cell phone on the speakerphone setting so everyone could talk and hear the conversations. We announced on the phone that we had set the date and Sue squealed joyfully on the other end of the line. She instantly started talking travel plans and wedding decorations.

After that we were passed to Leah and Danny who were visiting for the holiday. As I had predicted, Leah moved to Portland to be with Danny within a month of their return and had begun taking classes at the university there. She was blossoming in the freedom from the bitterness and sorrow that had stolen so many years from her and you could literally hear the glow of her smile in her voice.

They congratulated us and then proceeded to inform us that they had gotten engaged just that morning. This time it was my turn to squeal. We all told them how happy we were for them and while a date had not been set yet, they took the opportunity to ask me if I would be the maid of honor claiming that I was the link that led them to one another. They also asked Seth to be a groomsman, Nessie to be a bridesmaid, and Jake to be best man. We all told them we would be honored to be part of their wedding and began asking them about how long of an engagement they planned to have and where the wedding would be held.

As the clock crept toward midnight Jake and Nessie made their way back home so Nessie could rest. The poor thing was so tired and she was about ready to pass out in her chair by the time that they actually left. Sometimes I would sit and watch how uncomfortable she seemed and would start getting really nervous for the future when I would be the one sporting the big pregnant belly with the swollen limbs and miniscule bladder. It made me nervous to know that if she, as a vampire hybrid, was having such a hard time dealing then how much worse will it end up being for me, but then I would also remind myself of the unique nature of the baby and try to convince myself that at least a portion of her discomfort had to be partially due to the baby being a tribrid, which was my little joke about the baby being a hybrid of three different 'species'.

After the rest of the family dispersed to do their own things, I insisted on helping Mom do the dishes before we got started digging out the Christmas decorations for the house and set to work getting it ready for the festive season and when we were done with the main house Mom came back to Seth's and my place to help me decorate there as well. By the time that we were finished with both houses the sun was high in the sky. Seth had been a dear once again staying up to help and once again finding us the perfect trees for both houses. When we were finally finished we both walked in a daze up to our room, pulled down the shades to darken the room and passed out in our bed only waking long enough to eat a late lunch and spend some time enjoying the lights on our tree before returning to bed for the rest of the afternoon and night.

It had been nearly a year since the last time I had a nightmare so fierce that it shook me to the core. It had been so long that I had almost convinced myself that perhaps they really were just some form of subconscious fears about Seth and my family manifesting themselves in my sleep as Edward had suggested, but this night they returned with a vengeance.

_The dream started out innocently enough. It actually began as many of my recent dreams did with me sitting alone in the living room of the main house with Nessie and Jake's precious treasure in my arms. In every dream the baby was always a gorgeous baby girl who looked to be about a year old with dark satiny ringlets in her hair and a medium tan complexion and twinkling green eyes. It always struck me as odd that she would end up with Edward's green eyes when both Nessie and Jake's were brown, but then again, it was simply a dream after all. This precious baby girl and I held a special bond, and she always responded to me in a slightly different manner than the rest of the family. I was always the one person besides her mother and father who could calm her cries when she was ill or injured and every time she saw me she would react much like baby Violet and reach for me with a wide smile and little squeals of joy._

_Normally this dream would continue with Seth walking in and helping me care for the baby, or watching the baby and me playing games together, always something happy that gave us both joy, but tonight this would not be the case. Tonight a cold chill suddenly filled the house and I clutched the sweet baby girl close to me instinctively shielding her from the cold and the sense of danger that I felt. I stood with her and slowly made my way to the window to look out on the lawn seeing nothing in the dark expanse of the night, but sensing that something was out there._

_I was suddenly nervous that I was alone and had no way to protect the baby or myself. Goosebumps rose on my arms and a chill ran down my back as I ran to grab my cell phone from the table next to the couch and began dialing Seth's number, but he never answered. Next I tried Edward and then my heart stopped cold when in spite of the fact that I was supposed to be home alone, I could hear his phone ringing upstairs. I followed the ring to the room that it was emanating from and stood outside with my hand on the knob afraid to open the door._

_I clutched the baby girl tighter in my arm as I slowly twisted the knob and gently pushed on the door to open it, but it would not budge. It felt as though something was barricaded against the door. I pushed harder and harder until the door was opened enough to look inside as the baby in my arms began to cry. The room was dark and I could see nothing but black in the expanse beyond. I timidly reached my hand through the opening to find the light switch and with a shaking hand I finally felt it under my palm and flipped it on._

_A high pitched screech filled the air as I saw a pale dismembered hand holding a cell phone in the middle of the floor surrounded by various other body parts. It wasn't until I started to feel the pain in my throat and the baby in my arms flail wildly that I realized that the horrible noise was coming from my chest. I gave one final shove to the door and it opened to reveal many more parts that I recognized immediately as my entire family. Panic rose in my chest as I realized that I didn't know what to do, they weren't burned, so perhaps there was a possibility that they could be reassembled somehow. I mean there had to be some reason why we had to burn the pieces, it had to mean that remains could somehow become reanimated, but just as the thought crossed my mind I saw a single burning match fall from behind the door and the whole room ignited in a fireball._

_I screamed once more for my family that I now knew were lost forever and ran with as much speed as my weak human legs could manage down the stairs afraid to look and see where the match had originated. I made it out the front door and froze in my tracks on the front porch as I faced a sea of black capes. In the center of the guard stood the men I recognized as Aro, Caius, and Marcus surrounded by their most trusted weapons. To the trio's left I saw the man I knew as Felix smiling at me wickedly and twiddling a pack of matches between his fingers like a magician performing a coin trick._

_Aro barked out an order and Felix took a step to approach us and I stepped back in reaction as the baby in my arms looked forward at the approaching man with alarm. Suddenly Felix stopped five feet away from us almost as though he were frozen mid step. He looked confused and frustrated as he visibly struggled to step forward, but could not make his body obey. He looked back at his masters and then back at us finally taking a step back. He attempted to move forward again, but was once again incapable of approaching beyond the invisible barrier._

_Aro frowned at us as murmurs broke out among the guard. After a moment Aro recalled Felix to his side and turned to Jane who smiled wickedly at us. I tensed and shut my eyes a moment expecting the fiery torture that Jane was about to inflict upon us, but the pain never came and I slowly opened my eyes to see that Jane had the same look of confusion as I had._

_Suddenly a new order was given and three of the guard accompanied by Demetri stepped forward and all four were also met with the same problem as Felix. At the same distance from us they were once again frozen and could not move forward. They finally also returned to the guard._

_I suddenly realized what was going on. I hugged the baby girl in my arms and praised her for being a good girl and told her that she had to keep it up just a bit longer. We couldn't stay here forever because eventually this sweet precious baby would no longer be able to hold them off and I could feel the heat growing behind me as my family's funeral pyre began to spread throughout the upper levels. I sent up a silent prayer that my plan would work and I took a step forward off of the porch. The guard did not move, but all eyes were on the pair of us. I stepped forward again, making my way toward the edge of the group. The house was completely surrounded so I made my way toward my car and as we approached the group that separated us from our goal suddenly seemed to almost be pushed back and to the sides. We slowly made our way over to the car and I opened the door and sat down keeping the baby on my lap to keep eye contact with those that meant us harm._

_Behind the sea of cloaks the second story of my family's home was now a blazing inferno that lit the lawn with a ghastly orange glow. Sobs began to rumble in my chest as I watched the ones who raised me disappear into the purple smoke that rose from the tongues of fire that stretched up into the night sky. I quickly stifled my pain and tried to focus on what I had to do. I hugged the baby close to me and kissed her head and hoped against hope that Seth, Jake, and Nessie were still alive out there somewhere. I couldn't let myself think that they weren't. If I allowed myself to believe even for a second that Seth was dead I would not have been able to go on, so I denied my fears and strengthened my resolve._

_I started the car and began to pull forward. The guard that surrounded the car were moved aside by the invisible barrier as we lurched forward and drove away from the place we once called home. I drove through the dark of the night having no clue what to do or where to go. I tried calling Seth, Jake and Nessie's cell phones, but after a few rings the line would go dead. I felt numbness stretch throughout my body as I suppressed the pain in order to think clearly and save the precious amazing baby girl that was now my responsibility. The only positive result of the night was that the Volturi guard were so shocked by the events of the evening that they did not attempt to follow. I weighed my choices and made my decision as I called Sam and set my path for Washington to the only place where I knew help remained, in La Push._

When I woke up from my dream and sat up in bed, I wasn't screaming like I typically did after one of these nightmares, but instead I was hyperventilating with tears streaming down my face. I gasped for air in a panic as I tried to convince myself that it really was just a dream. Seth sat up next to me and I turned to him squeezing his neck so tightly that it left bruises on my arms as I buried my face in his shoulder and let the sobs continue to pour out of my chest.

It took a long time before I was able to collect myself enough to share my dream. Seth listened to me as tears began to roll down his own face.

"Oh my Angel," Seth crooned softly in my ear. "It's okay Angel. I'm here, we're here together."

I clung tighter to his neck as the sobs continued to hitch from my chest.

"I'm so proud of how you handled the situation in your dream though. That is exactly what you should do if you ever find yourself alone. You should go to Sam and the pack and they will protect you." I cuddled into his chest for a moment, melting into his embrace as I measured his words, but then my prior dreams came flooding into my mind and I froze and looked back up at Seth.

"No! I shouldn't! It was my first instinct, but it's exactly the wrong thing to do!"

He looked confused as he shook his head in disagreement.

"Don't you remember my other dreams? If I were to go to La Push, it would bring the conflict directly onto the pack's doorstep. I would be handing all of those innocent people to them on a silver platter. That's the last place I should go!"

He continued to shake his head and attempt to dissuade me from my thoughts, but I couldn't hear his words. My heart was filled with hopelessness as I thought about facing the demons of the world alone. I knew that if anything happened to Seth and my family, I could never go and place all of those people in danger. I could never consciously do anything that could lead to their destruction. One way or another, I was going to have to some day find a way to protect myself and not have to rely on others to take care of me. There had to be a way, somehow, someday.

I spoke to Seth some more about my horrible nightmare. After I explained the fear I had and how hopeless I felt and the fear that gripped my soul that I wasn't going to be able to find him I grabbed his face and kissed him with the desperate need to feel him close to me. No amount of closeness was enough. I needed to feel him all around me to have him touch me and comfort me. I urgently kissed him and ran my hands over his body and he returned my attentions with matching desperation. We went on like this for a long time until finally we hit the barriers of our physical relationship to that point and he stopped, but I couldn't, I begged him for more.

He looked me in the eyes with reluctance, fear, and desire warring in his eyes, but eventually our need for one another took precedence as our hands ventured to places we had never dared to explore before. It was exactly what I needed…to feel him closer to me, to have him next to me with only the thinnest of layers between us and then eventually no layers at all between us. We both experienced pleasure like neither of us had ever believed was possible as our loving hands and mouths brought one another to new heights of joy and intimacy. We stopped before we technically broke our promise, but by the end of this day, that was the only barrier left for us to cross.

As the sun fell below the horizon we lay next to each other on our bed, both euphoric as we gazed into one another's eyes. It was almost as though we were sharing an unspoken conversation as our eyes locked. We were going to live our lives from this point out being certain to cherish each and every moment we had together and to cherish one another for as long as we walked the earth. Eventually the exhaustion of the emotional events of the day pulled us both into slumber as we lay wrapped in each other's arms and I let Seth's warmth and love chase away the darkness in my dreams, replacing it with reminders of sweet, unbearably perfect bliss.

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Author's Note: Hey Guys. Well what did you think? I'd like to hear your thoughts and constructive criticism is always welcome, just please don't be mean for the sake of being mean.

_**I got some good responses from my featured author idea, so here is my featured author for this chapter. She's been so helpful to me that I have to send out love to my faithful, and often burdened by me with yet another chapter to check over… my lovely friend and beta reader, Melissa00Anne. Mel has one fanfic currently posted called Seth and Eliza, which I happen to beta for her as well. The story begins at Christmas time when Leah invites her college friend Eliza, her sister, and her cousin to visit and meet some of her friends and her brother. She and Seth meet and of course, they are immediately drawn to one another. It's a sweet story and one that any pack lover would thoroughly enjoy, so if you get some time, go to my favorite authors on my profile and check it out! **_

_**Okay, I know, I know annoyingly long a/n again, but I wanted to let you guys know that I have also posted a new "story" that will contain extras, outtakes, and other points of view from this story. The first chapter is Seth's POV of this chapter and to warn you ahead of time; it's much more detailed than this chapter. I decided to make a separate story for several reasons: 1) I really want to keep the main story at a T rating. I have quite a few younger readers and I don't want to have to change my rating or be responsible for corrupting the world's youth any further than they already are and this scene is more a lemony M rating, 2) I sometimes find that flipping POV can sometimes mess with the continuity of a story and make things a little more confusing and so I prefer to simply right the main story from Lina's POV and then I can throw any alternate POVs etc in the outtakes posting. 3) My mom reads this story and I really don't think I could bear to have her read something like that when she had enough of a hard time reading their first time at the valley together and the night in the hotel on their way home from Washington. She's a VERY conservative lady and I'm just not ready to deal with her reaction to reading that. Anyway, if you want to read Seth's POV of this chapter, then go to my profile and chose the Chasing Away The Shadows: Extras link! Thanks a ton and hope you liked this chapter!!**_


	13. Morning Revelations

**13. Morning Revelations **

I awoke the next morning to find myself still wrapped lovingly in Seth's arms. Instead of trying to get up, I just laid there staring over at the beautiful man that was going to be my husband in a little over seven months. I smiled as I watched the expressions dance across his sleeping face. He seemed so relaxed and more at peace than I had ever really seen before, I smiled as I noticed a light smile fluttered at the corners of his mouth and his lips parted and closed gently almost as if he were carrying on a conversation in his sleep. After a few minutes of watching him, a grunt and two words finally slipped through their silent movements. I had to fight the giggles that were trying to escape my body and ruin everything when I heard him say, "uh, so sexy," and I realized that the smile on his lips wasn't necessarily his amused smile, but more his aroused smile.

I decided to see if I could get more out of him so I leaned forward gently so I wouldn't wake him and whispered into his ear. "Do you think I'm sexy?"

"Ooooh, yeaaah," he moaned lightly through his sleepy mouth. I smiled, satisfied with his answer, and stayed there a bit longer just watching his chest rise and fall with his slow steady breaths before finally gently untangling myself from his embrace and tiptoeing my way into the bathroom to take a shower. When I was finished I looked in on him again to see that he was still sleeping soundly and left him a quick note telling him where I was going and letting him know how amazing the night before had been before I quietly made my way downstairs and out the front door to wander over to the main house.

I walked in the back door to find all of my family who lived there mingling in the living room and dining room. Well, almost all of my family…

"Hey everyone," I said enthusiastically. I was still most definitely floating in a bit of an afterglow. My family members all looked up at me with bright smiles and returned my greeting with equal enthusiasm. About this time I looked around to realize that two family members were missing.

"Where are Edward and Bella?"

"Hunting I guess," my mother said. She was about to continue when Emmett spoke up from his spot next to Rosalie on the couch.

"Yeah, right, escaping something is more like it."

"Escaping something?"

"Well, I don't know why else he would hop up in the middle of a perfectly good movie looking like he's about to go crazy and grab Bella and tell her that he needed to go hunting in the middle of the afternoon when they had just gone hunting the day before, and it wasn't his usual 'I need to get Bella alone right now' face either. Unfortunately we all know that one far too well."

I could feel my cheeks warming as Emmett talked. I was so wrapped up in my emotions and how I was feeling at the time that I never even stopped to consider whether or not Edward was nearby and what we might be subjecting him to. Wait…maybe it wasn't that…maybe I'm over reacting.

"About what time was it that he left yesterday Em?"

"Eh, about three or so."

I clinched my eyes shut reflexively as I bowed my head in chagrin wishing I could totally just disappear. Oh, poor Edward! When I opened my eyes again everyone was looking at me and Emmett had a huge grin on his face.

"Why didn't I think of it before? Of course Edward took off like a bat out of hell…little sis finally got herself some!" Emmett's booming laughs filling the living room.

My face felt so hot, I could have sworn I could cook an egg on my cheeks. "No Emmett…I did NOT 'get myself some', but…uh…" I sighed in embarrassment and defeat before continuing, whilst staring down as my toe traced the design in the oriental rug at my feet, "Seth and I were _involved_ a little more than usual I guess you could say, which would definitely have been enough to make Edward feel compelled to get some distance between us…can we please just drop the subject and never discuss it openly again!" I snapped as I turned to the kitchen to get myself a glass of water and regain my composure.

"Involved, yeah, that's one way to put it. Remind me to congratulate Seth later."

"EMMETT. Don't you dare! I swear you open that big mouth of yours and I promise that one way or another I will manage to find a way to make you pay someday." I glared at him from over my glass.

He shot me another annoying Cheshire cat grin and mumbled something to Rose that I couldn't quite make out but sounded a little like "as if she'll ever be able to do that." And thankfully that was the end of that subject.

About half an hour later, Seth managed to make his way over and settled himself on the couch next to me, pulling me into his arms and kissing my head. "I missed you when I woke up this morning," he whispered in my ear with a touch of darkness in his eye that I recognized from the night before.

"You were sleeping so peacefully I didn't want to wake you up." I replied, blushing slightly at the memory of the things he said in his sleep. I saw Jasper get up and leave the room and while I felt bad, I also couldn't help but smirk a little. It was obvious that Seth and I must both be putting out some pretty heavy lust vibes to send him running. My poor brothers!

"Why are you blushing?" He had a twinkle in his eye thinking he knew, but I was pretty sure he still had no clue.

"A few reasons, but at this particular moment I'm feeling bad that we just chased poor Jasper out of the room." He glanced behind him to see Jasper was gone and then turned back with a light chuckle. It wasn't enough to chase the look out of his eye though. "I was also remembering what you said in your sleep this morning."

"I was talking in my sleep?" He said looking surprised.

I smiled a wide devious smile, "Oh yeah, I'll tell you more later." I whispered stealing a glance at the room full of vampires who I knew full well could hear every word we were saying with perfect clarity even though we were whispering. They were doing their best to give the impression that they weren't though.

He shot me a fake pout and then smiled. "What are the other reasons?"

I blushed even deeper looking down at my hands before looking back up at him through my eyelashes bashfully, "Um…we sort of chased Edward off, he had to take an impromptu hunting trip yesterday afternoon. He and Bella still aren't back."

He grimaced a little, probably thinking the same thing as me, and then whispered a small oops glancing over his shoulders to make sure Emmett wasn't preparing to tackle him at any given moment. I chuckled seeing the worry in his face. Seth took a deep breath and seemed to calm himself a little, satisfied that he wasn't going to be killed today at least.

"So did you tell them about the dream?" Seth whispered into my hair.

Suddenly all of the heads in the room whipped around to focus on me again and Jasper reappeared on the landing of the stairwell looking down with a concerned expression. I rolled my eyes wishing he hadn't brought it up.

"Thanks a lot! I was hoping I wouldn't have to, but now I guess I have no choice." I wasn't really relishing the idea of telling my family I dreamed that they had been dismembered and burned in this very house. Reluctantly I began to recount my story to them as I had the night before to Seth. Thankfully it was much easier this time now that I had a little distance from it, but I still found myself shaking and crying at certain points throughout the story. My family all watched with pained expressions, although it was a bit of a relief when I told them about the thought that had crossed my mind about trying to reanimate their bodies and they let out small giggles. My father spoke up from across the room.

"Wow Lina, I thought you knew this part after all of these years. We don't burn the pieces because we're afraid they will reanimate, it's more just for the purpose of keeping our existence secret. Vampire remains do not decompose or disappear, so they would remain to be discovered by a human and thus ultimately reveal us to the world. The only way to dispose of the remains is to burn them."

"That makes sense and I think I already knew that," I answered feeling a bit embarrassed at the elementary nature of the truth, "but in my dream I was desperate to find a way to get you back I think. I was grasping at straws."

"Well, I could certainly understand that dear," my mother chimed in trying to lessen my embarrassment.

We talked a little longer and Seth brought up my reservations about going to La Push. They didn't like my reasoning any more than Seth had as they all insisted that it was where I should go. I tried to explain, but they wouldn't hear me and when I tried to use my past dreams as a basis for the decision they dismissed them once again as figments of my imagination, and for some reason today it made me mad.

"I'm sure once upon a time a human Alice would have told you the exact same things and look who she is today. I'm telling you these dreams are too vivid, they feel too real… I'm pretty sure that they will not play out exactly as I dream them, but I'm really starting to believe that there's more to them than simply dreams. Edward theorizes that I may have a touch of precognition, or at least that's what he told Seth after my dream in La Push." I blurted out as I stood up with my fists clinched at my side.

"And I resent the implication that just because I may be the only plain old human around this place that the things that I experience are automatically considered to simply be a result of my subconscious working overtime. All of your gifts originated from a weaker manifestation within your human selves, so to just dismiss whatever this is as simply dreams is to say that none of your gifts were valid in your human forms, which we know isn't true because of Bella. I recognize a few things, I know that the way the baby looks is from my own imagination, her powers probably are too, I know that what happened to you all is somehow linked to my fears, although I do believe that you are in some form of danger, but I also believe that these dreams foreshadow a real threat from the Volturi, and a real threat to Jake and Nessie's baby and the pack. Some parts of my visions are way too accurate to be coincidence and for you to just dismiss it is utterly infuriating!" I was practically yelling now as my family looked on with wide eyes. Very few times in my life have they seen me this blatantly emotional and it always took them off guard. Angry tears began to roll down my cheeks just before I felt a blanket of calm fill the room. I spun to glare at Jasper still watching the scene unfold from the landing on the staircase.

"Jasper, would you just stop that! I'm not a newborn. It's not like I'm going to go on a murder spree or something. I am allowed to feel the full breadth of my emotions from time to time you know!"

Jasper looked hurt and I immediately felt bad for snapping at him knowing he was only trying to help. I shot him an apologetic look and then shook my head and walked out the front door before I could say any more angry hurtful things to my family that loved me. The angry tears continued to form and roll down my cheeks as I stalked my way across the yard toward the path to our house. I couldn't help it, I was so sick of being coddled and patronized as the weak little human. I wished for once they would take what I had to say seriously because I knew that while the Volturi weren't very likely to show up on our doorstep and wipe out my whole family in the very near future, there was something that included their involvement, which was looming on the horizon. Not only that, but there were things like me seeing the pack kids at the playground in La Push before I had ever been there, and yet I had seen it with perfect clarity, and also the fact that even though I hadn't been told about it yet, in my dream I saw that in addition to Levi, Will was also a phasing member of the pack. My dreams were tainted with my current personal experiences, my subconscious was definitely seeping through and I knew that, but I also knew that there was more to these dreams than simply dreams. I could feel it in my bones.

Before I even made it to the path back to our house, Seth had already run out and caught up with me, grabbing me with a strong hand and pulling me back into his warm, loving embrace. He rubbed small circles on my lower back as he placed small kisses on my forehead and hair and I could feel my anger slowly slipping away. Once he was satisfied with my emotional state he turned us towards our house and kept one arm around my shoulder as we walked together. We were halfway there when I finally started to explain my frustrations.

"I feel bad for yelling at them like that, but I get so sick of being dismissed because of my age and the lack of venom running through my veins!"

"I know sweetheart, and I agree with you, there's something more to these dreams. I thought that last night when you were telling me about them. The thing that freaked me out the most was how accurately you described Felix, Demetri, and Jane."

I stopped mid step and turned and looked at him in surprise. "Have you ever seen pictures of them before?" He asked as he stared down at me with a furrowed brow.

"No, I've heard them described before, but not in great detail…enough that I recognized them in my dream, but that was it. I've seen the painting in Dad's study of Aro, Marcus, and Caius, but beyond that no."

"Nessie never showed you what they look like with her gift either?"

I shook my head as I watched his face glaze over with a blank stare. "Your descriptions last night when you were telling me about the nightmare were so specific, I wondered if you had somehow seen them before," he said in barely more than a whisper, "I wondered right then and there if there was more to your dreams than they appear to be."

I began to shake as he pulled me once more into his warm embrace as he attempted to calm me with gentle caresses of my back and hair. "I promise I will do everything in my power to protect you Angel." He whispered into my hair as he placed a light kiss on the top of my head.

After a while we continued on our way to the house, continuing the conversation. We both agreed that the biggest question isn't as much whether or not there are warnings in my dreams, but more how much of my dreams are from my own subconscious and how much they foretell of things to come.

We sat in our living room and talked for a long time before lunchtime rolled around and we worked together to fix spaghetti to eat and we sat at the table together, enjoying our meal in peace as we looked out over the pond. We were just finishing up and washing the dishes when we heard a knock at the door. I walked over and opened it to find Edward, Bella, and Jasper.

"May we come in?" Edward asked in his typical chivalrous manner.

I nodded and stepped aside so they could enter offering them to take a seat in the living room. Seth joined me as we sat in the love seat across from them. There was a brief uncomfortable silence before both Edward and I started speaking at the same time. We both stopped and shot each other our trademark crooked grins. Everybody used to joke that perhaps somewhere deep in our lineage Edward and I must share an ancestor between the green eyes and the crooked grins that actually did appear quite similar. A beat later I asked if I could go first and he nodded.

"First of all, Edward, I want to apologize for yesterday. We were sort of wrapped up in the emotions of the whole nightmare thing and then after that well, things just evolved. I didn't even think about you being nearby."

He shook his head appearing to try to lose the visual that he was probably receiving from both my own, as well as Seth's memories. "It's okay. I understand. I had actually caught your dream from the part where you were trying to call me and was listening to the conversation afterward concerned about you and when the comforting transitioned to the more intimate I decided it was prudent to leave before I saw more than I would ever care to. I could see in your mind where things were going to end up going, so I didn't actually see any more than I had before." He stated calmly with a furrowed brow before he suddenly winced again and continued with a strained voice, "Until now that is…can you two please stop reminiscing!"

I could hear Bella and Jasper chuckling next to him, as their eyes darted back and forth between the two of us on the loveseat and back to Edward. I stole a glance at Seth to see he was blushing just as much as I was, and I believed that Edward probably would be too if it were actually possible.

"Yes, I dare say you're probably right Lina." He replied with a pointed glance. Well at least my mind was off other things now I chuckled to myself as I imagined how his face would look if he could blush. He smiled at me and shifted forward slightly to discuss what he, Bella, and Jasper had come over to discuss.

"Bella and I were nearly back home when I heard your discussion with the family about the dream and then your discussion with Seth on the path. You are right Seth…her dreams are far too accurate for someone who has only been told about the guard and yet had never seen their images. That was a part of why Bella and I were gone so long. We went to Denali to visit Eleazar. He was highly disconcerted when I explained the dreams that you have had so far and the detail with which you are experiencing things that you have never encountered. He has asked if he can come and visit next week to meet you and see what he can discern. Like you and I, Lina, he is particularly concerned that the new baby will ultimately be an irresistible draw for Aro. He believes it would be highly prudent to begin preparing for that event in the not so distant future."

My vision blurred as I struggled to swallow past the lump that was now poised in my throat while my mind struggled to process the fact that Eleazar, once a skill seeker for the Volturi, found it necessary to come meet me. Obviously he too believed that there may be more to my dreams. I felt myself trembling as Seth reached over to pull me close to him and lay soft kisses on my head. Edward and Jasper both watched me with obvious concern as my mind took it's time weaving the new knowledge together into something I could make sense of. I felt Jasper attempt to help my nerves with a wave of peace and calmness and I smiled a little in thanks for his effort, but continued to focus on my own thoughts instead of meeting his gaze. Once I had managed to form the facts into a coherent mental picture I swallowed again and lifted my gaze back to focus on my brothers and sister as I nodded.

"Okay, so next week maybe we will have some more tangible answers. What do we do for now?"

"Nothing," Edward continued, "We already checked with Alice and the Volturi are all safely entrenched in Volterra now with no plans to go anywhere at all at this point in time. Like us, Eleazar believes that the events that are prophetic in your dream are far in the future, maybe even beyond your own human lifespan, but he feels it would be a good idea for us to see what we can gather from them."

"So we wait for Eleazar." I said barely above a whisper as I sucked in a ragged breath.

They all nodded, "We wait for Eleazar." They all responded in unison in the same volume as my voice.

I was still sitting in a bit of a daze as Edward and Jasper asked Seth to come back to the main house with them for a minute to discuss something. Bella crossed the room to sit next to me on the loveseat and reached her cool arms around my shoulders and I leaned over onto her side, tucking my feet behind me on the couch as she ran her hands through my hair. The sisterly moments Bella and I shared were sporadic, but that just made them even more precious.

With each of my siblings our interactions were unique. With Alice and Rosalie it was more about fashion and social grace, with Emmett and Jasper it was usually about self defense and more tomboyish pursuits, with Edward it was usually intellectual guidance and comfort, but with Bella it was even more intimate than all of those things combined…she truly understood what it was like to be a human interacting within the vampire family and how it felt to be so different and weak and to feel yourself to be a burden. Yes, her memories of those days were weak, but I think in her desperation to hold onto everything possible connected to Edward, her memories were more vivid during that portion of her life than most others.

"You're going to like Eleazar and his wife Carmen. They are very special people…especially Carmen. I have a feeling that she will be drawn to you as she was to Renesmee. They were the first ones outside of our family to know about Renesmee, did you know that?" I looked over at her and shook my head.

"They were very supportive in those months of terror after Renesmee was born and I was a newborn just learning about who and what I had become as the threat of the Volturi loomed over every moment of our days and nights. It was Eleazar who recognized my talents as a shield and had been amazed at the fact that I was exhibiting the talent so strongly in my human form that Aro and Jane's powers were useless on me. If anyone can provide us with answers, it will be him."

I nodded and sighed as I rested my head on her shoulder. It would probably look quite funny to an outsider looking in because despite my sister being nineteen years older than me, she appeared to be about the same age as me with quite a bit smaller build, and yet here I was cuddled up into her embrace like a small child.

When I first came to live with my new family, Bella was distant and things were a bit awkward between us. Our relationship began to evolve a couple of years later when Bella started spending more time talking with me one on one. She used to take me for walks through the forest and tell me what few stories she could remember about our mother and I would tell her the few things that my young memories had retained and with time our bond grew. We were never as openly affectionate as some of my other siblings were, but I understood eventually that it was just Bella's personality. The only individuals that Bella had even been truly openly affectionate with on her own were Edward and Nessie, beyond that she was far more reserved. I also knew though that her lack of open displays of affection didn't mean that she didn't feel that way for someone, she just had a hard time expressing it, which I later learned was a trait she had inherited from Charlie.

After we grew closer she eventually apologized for her distant nature and explained her difficulty showing emotions and also that it was hard for her when I first joined them between her struggles with self control, the painful reminder of the loss of our mother, and the reminders of her own frail life before she was changed. It was that day that I realized how much my sister really did love me because I knew how difficult it was for her to admit to her weaknesses. She was letting me behind the curtain so to speak, in a way that only Edward, Nessie, and Jake had ever been admitted before. From then on out there was one thing I could always count on, when I was really down and really feeling my weakest and most vulnerable, Bella would always be there to comfort me and help me pick up the pieces and pull myself together in ways that nobody else in my family ever could.

We sat and talked a while longer discussing my dreams and I shared with her some of the details that she had not gotten before. She too appeared very alarmed at the detail in which I could describe my vicious nemeses, right down to the light crescent shade variation in Demetri's and Felix's jaws and arms that I had noticed during my very first dream over a year ago during rehearsals for the school play.

We continued to talk and after a while she suggested that we fix something for supper so it would be ready when Seth returned. As we worked side by side in the kitchen our conversations lightened and we started having fun together as we decided to go all out and make homemade chicken and dumplings. Bella didn't do much cooking because she knew how much my mother enjoyed doing those things for me, but she still was very good. I hadn't even noticed that three hours had passed as we worked together and talked and laughed enjoying some lighthearted sisterly bonding for once while the chicken broth thickened as it simmered on the stove until Seth came back through the door with Edward on his heels. They both had warm bright smiles on their faces as they took in the scene of Bella and I dusted with flour as we laughed together attempting to clean up the mess we had managed to make while trying to make the dough for the dumplings. We invited Bella and Edward to stay with us while we ate, but they graciously declined and left us to eat in peace once more.

We sat at the table again eating and watching the geese waddle around the perimeter of our pond as the sun began to set on the horizon bringing shadows across our back lawn. I asked what they had been doing that took so long this evening, but Seth just laughed and said that there was nothing really, they just thought Bella and I could use some girl time. I laughed and hugged him as we got up and did dishes before settling in to watch a movie together and relax. I was grateful for my family and their ability to soothe my nerves. A week was going to be a long time to wait for answers, but at the same time I couldn't fight the thought that maybe I really didn't want to know the answers. Maybe, just maybe ignorance was bliss.

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Featured Author: Okay, now that I've paid respect to my first reviewer/lady who encouraged me to do this to begin with and my beta reader, now Climmillionaire. Climmy has one story for the Outsides and two for Twilight….the most recent of which is a "M" rated oneshot called Naughty Human, Naughty Vampire. Here's the summary:

_**Violet is fed up with Emmett not giving her what she wants. She wants him and thats that. So she sets out to get what she wants.**_

_**So if straight up lemony twilight fanfic is your cup o tea, go show Climmy some love and thanks Climmy for sticking with me the past couple of months!!!**_

_**Also sorry for the long wait you guys…today the kids finally decided to nap at the same time and all of a sudden I found that I had this one finally finished and am over ¾ of the way through the next chapter. If things work as planned it should be up in the next day or two! **_

_**Thanks for reading and please remember to review. I like to hear what you guys think, and constructive criticism is welcome. **_


	14. Give and Take

**14. Give and Take**

The next week seemed to drag by as the Thanksgiving break ended and I had to go back to school. To make matters worse, it was finals week for the community college and so I had to prepare for finals for my first ever college courses while stressing over the impending arrival of Eleazar.

Just after I finished my last final in my psychology class, I was called to the office and notified that my parents had called to request that I be sent home early and that I should collect my homework for Friday from my teachers before leaving because I would be missing school tomorrow as well.

I made my way to my high school level classrooms to get my assignments from my teachers and slowly made my way out to my car. I was relieved to see that Seth was leaning against my rear fender waiting for me. He stood up when I exited the building and met me halfway between the door and the car taking my backpack from my shoulder and wrapping his other arm around my shoulders as he hugged me into his side and kissed my head.

"So I take it this means that Eleazar has arrived."

"Yep," he answered popping his 'p'.

I gulped as he opened the door tossing my backpack into the back seat. He turned to me and pulled me into a hug resting his cheek on the top of my head as I laid my cheek on his chest. We just stood there together as I drew strength from his embrace, each second somehow feeling stronger and braver. I didn't know what it was about Seth's embrace, but it always fortified me for whatever was to come.

After a few minutes I felt brave enough to face whatever it was I was about to learn and I shifted my head so that I was looking straight up at Seth with my chin resting on his chest. He looked right back down at me with those warm brown eyes and smiled a reassuring smile before I tipped up on my toes to brush my lips against his. We shared a relatively short kiss before I finally let go and slid into my seat allowing Seth to close the door behind me before crossing back over to the driver's side and sliding behind the wheel.

My beautiful classic car rumbled to life as Seth turned the key and shifted through the gears to escort me back home. My heart was beating faster and harder the closer we got to the house and I assumed that Seth must have heard it even over the rumble of the engine because he looked at me suddenly with a concerned expression on his face before reaching over and taking my hand bringing it to his mouth for a gentle kiss before letting it rest in his lap while he rubbed small soothing circled on the back of it with his thumb.

"It's going to be okay Angel. It's all going to be okay."

"I hope so Seth, I really hope so," was all I could say as I looked out the window at the green trees that stretched along the side of the road melting into a blur as we passed.

My neck and shoulders ached with tension as we pulled to park in front of the main house. In typical Seth fashion, he instinctually reached over and rubbed my shoulders with a firm hand helping alleviate some of the pain as I rolled my neck in appreciation.

"Thanks, I needed that," I smiled at him.

"I know," he smiled back before getting out and walking around to open the door for me and helping me out. He continued to massage my shoulders as we slowly made our way up the front steps to stand in front of the front door. My heart was pounding in my chest and it felt like I was having to really struggle to breathe. Seth just stood there with me waiting for me to gather my resolve and open the door. Finally with a shaky hand I reached out and turned the knob opening the door and stepping through into the living room.

I took a few more tentative steps into the room as I observed that the entire family had gathered including Jake and Nessie. A beautiful golden eyed lady with long raven hair stood behind Nessie and gently ran her fingers through Nessie's bronze curls as Nessie leaned her head back appearing to be so relaxed that she was nearly asleep.

Next to the beautiful lady stood an equally stunning man who appeared to be approximately the same height as Jake with dark hair and a chalky olive complexion with a somewhat startled expression on his face as my father began introductions with Carmen who crossed the room and greeted me with a warm kindness and a sweet smile. We spoke briefly before she returned to Nessie's side and resumed gently caressing her curls. After my exchange with Carmen was completed my father began introducing me to Eleazar as his startled expression disappeared in a flash and was replaced with a resigned civility. He crossed the room slowly and extended his hand to me.

"It is nice to meet you Angelina." His voice deep, smooth and inviting.

I took his hand and did my best to meet his shake with a solid grip and smile. "Please call me Lina."

He returned my smile with a slight nod, "Lina."

He stood there for some time still holding my hand and looking at my face. He looked confused as his gaze tightened on my eyes, almost as though he were looking deep into my soul through the window of my eyes. After a long moment he let go of my hand and took a step back but continued to hold my gaze.

"Just as intriguing as her sister," he whispered in a voice that was barely discernable to my less acute ears.

I heard Edward's voice from the far side of the room, "Well that explains a few things."

"How is that so Edward?" Eleazar asked while still maintaining eye contact with me. A part of me wanted to look away, but yet I could not. I suddenly needed all of the answers that this man could provide and I wasn't walking away until I had them.

"I always thought that perhaps it was simply an effect of her living with us, her biology was being challenged and her body was compensating, but maybe that's the reason instead. Lina has slightly more attuned reflexes and hearing than most humans and is capable of deciphering our speech even when we speak at our fastest tempo, which even the wolves with their superior hearing cannot do."

I noticed in my peripheral vision that the rest of my family members were reacting to this new information about my abilities. Edward, Seth, Leah, and I were the only ones aware of this particular ability of mine, and none of us had shared about my better than average hearing with any of the rest of the family.

"Really?" He replied with raised eyebrows directing the question at me.

"Yes," was all my voice could manage. I was starting to feel a bit frustrated not knowing what Edward and Eleazar knew and had yet to share with the rest of us.

"Perhaps the two of you could include the rest of us in the theory?" My father spoke up from somewhere in the room.

Eleazar finally removed his gaze from my eyes and turned to face my father as Seth took my hand and led me to the chair that had been left open for us to sit in near the door. He sat down and pulled me across his lap where he continued to rub my back in small circles doing his best to soothe me.

"I've never actually encountered anything like it really. The best way I could explain it is that she's a bit like a sponge. Even in her human form she's somehow adapting parts of the abilities attached to the life force of those that she's closest to and incorporating them into herself. I'm assuming this has been a slow process over many years, but in effect she's managed to melt your abilities into one of her own. She's taken Alice's precognition and tempered it in some way with Jasper's ability so that she's getting glimpses of the far future that are not tempered as much by current choices, but more by the overall feelings of others toward your family. She's ascertained the Volturi's aggression toward you and the shape shifters and has managed to funnel that into her dreams. The dreams are most definitely more than mere subconscious chatter."

I let out an involuntary gasp at the confirmation that my dreams were more than simply dreams and that my family really is in danger. Tears began to pool in my eyes and the trembling resumed in my body. Seth pulled me against his chest and stroked my hair as I buried my face in his neck and took a deep breath, attempting to collect myself again and instantly feeling calmer.

"Not only that, her ability to absorb is not limited to just the vampire family members either, she draws much strength and bravery from her mate." My face shot back up at that and I looked at Eleazar in surprise and then back to Seth who met my gaze with a smile as if he already knew. I looked at him with confusion for a moment before a thought crossed my mind that scared me. I snapped my head back around to meet Eleazar's gaze once more.

"Do I hurt them when I do this? I mean, is it bad for them or take anything away from them?"

He smiled at me gently, "No child, you do not harm or steal from them, it's more like you copy them. In fact I also get the feeling that you give as much as you take projecting a bit of yourself in the exchange."

I relaxed a bit at that and turned to look back at Seth and he continued to smile at me with a twinkle in his eyes. "You knew somehow didn't you?" I finally whispered, no longer able to wait to voice my suspicions.

He smiled, "In a weird way, yes, I think I did, or at least it didn't surprise me. It does explain a lot about you and how I seem to be able to calm you down sometimes when nobody else can because during those times I concentrate on how much I love you, so you're taking in my love and that makes you relax. It makes perfect sense. There are also times when I feel like I can actually feel your love for me coming off of your body, like in a physical way…so that would really explain it."

I didn't care that my family and two perfect strangers were sitting there, I reached up and placed my hands on Seth's cheeks and leaned forward and placed a long and love filled kiss on his lips. He sat there for a few moments apparently feeling awkward about our audience, but he quickly loosened up and reached up to wrap one hand in my hair pulling me closer and the other around my back to rub up and down my back as he deepened the kiss. We stayed that way until finally my father cleared his throat and I reluctantly pulled away.

Seth looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes. "Yep, definitely felt that!"

I laughed and hugged him close again burying my nose in his neck taking a couple of deep breaths before turning to face my family again. I looked around the room to see a variety of expressions that ranged from worry to understanding and Bella almost looked proud.

"It will be interesting to see with what she's able to do now, what she will accomplish once she's been transformed." He said with an expectant smile in my direction.

I looked Eleazar square in the eyes. "I don't believe that I ever will choose to be transformed unless there is no other recourse. I want a life with Seth. I want to have a family with Seth. So unless something forces my hand, I'm afraid that we will never get to see that."

He looked back at me with a frown for a short while before he answered, "I fear that might be a mistake. You're giving the Volturi more fuel for their fire with that choice."

"My father told me once that if the Volturi want to come after us, they will eventually do so regardless of my mortality, so I'm not going to throw away the happiness this life has given me for something that will eventually happen anyway." We continued to hold one another's gaze for a long time before Edward finally interrupted.

"Eleazar, we have always encouraged Lina to make her own decisions regarding her mortality and have actually encouraged her to remain human her entire life. This is her decision and we will honor her wishes and encourage her decision wholeheartedly."

With Edward's declaration, Eleazar finally relented and retreated across the room to stand once more by Carmen. There was a long awkward silence before finally Emmett broke the tension with a chuckle as he started in.

"OOOOHHHHH Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeLina Squarepants!" He was bent over in laughter as he managed to choke out, "Now at least we know why she was so in love with that stupid Spongebob show when she was little!" There was silence for one brief second before my entire family broke out into uproarious laughter as poor Carmen and Eleazar looked on in confusion. Seth and I both had tears running down our faces as we laughed harder than we had in months.

Finally when we managed to calm ourselves back down, my father attempted to explain to the two who were not in on the joke about my love for the cartoon about a silly little sponge that lived in the sea and how sick they all got of that ridiculous theme song. They gave us all weak grins and slight nods before excusing themselves to go make a phone call home to Denali to check in.

The family sat around and talked a little while, our moods lighter after Emmett's little song. The conversation drifted to Nessie and the baby and other various things coming up in the next month as we all attempted to avoid the pink elephant in the room. Eventually Carmen and Eleazar returned to the room and I got the opportunity to speak more with Carmen. Bella was right, she was a wonderful lady and we got along very well. I could tell she had a very kind and loving heart and reminded me of my mother in some ways. Eleazar kept his distance for the remainder of the evening but occasionally I would catch him looking at me with a furrowed brow from across the room. When we would happen to catch each other's gazes he would nod in polite acknowledgement and I would match his gesture with a polite nod of my own. By the end of my conversation with Carmen we had made plans to spend some time together at Nessie's house the next day in order to get to know one another better.

Finally before we left to go back to our house, my parents remembered my finals this week. They looked so proud when I told them that I thought I did really well and had really enjoyed the classes this semester. Before we made our way out the back door my family all took turns hugging me and telling me how proud they were for my decision and that they always knew I was special.

As we left the house that evening, I felt both lighter and heavier at the same time if that were actually possible. I was scared for the future that included the Volturi guard coming for my loved ones, but happy to know the reasons behind my slightly enhanced physical abilities and the reason why I was having the dreams.

Seth was more than anxious to get us back home as he encouraged me to walk faster along the path. As soon as we were inside the front door he turned and his lips crashed into mine as a wave of love and lust washed over my body. After a few minutes of feverish kissing we were both still standing in the living room panting slightly from the exertion.

"You know…it's really amazing…we've lasted this long considering…" Seth managed to get out between breaths. We were both suddenly painfully aware that not only did we have the usual attractions of the hormones raging within our own bodies, but all of this time it was intensified by me somehow amplifying the whole thing by sensing his feelings for me and willing him to experience my feelings for him.

"You must…be a saint…to have held out all of this time." I managed to stammer out myself between ragged breaths. He laughed at my observation before taking my hand and leading me back upstairs. It was still a bit early for bed, but then again I was already pretty sure we weren't going to sleep immediately.

I hesitated at the top of the staircase and Seth stopped and turned to face me, "But what about Edward?"

He smiled, "I warned him about three seconds after that kiss earlier tonight. He's fully aware that he either needs to find a way to block us out or find a nice place to hang out for the evening. He seemed okay with it…at least he nodded in acknowledgement and didn't look too angry."

I smiled as I pulled him down to meet my lips as his hands roamed my back and then dipped down below my butt to lift me up so I could wrap my legs around his waist while he carried me down the hallway and to our bed. Without the urgency and need driving us we took our time as we explored each other in the quiet darkness of our bedroom before once again falling asleep with my body snuggled close to Seth's letting his warm penetrating heat surround me and his calming scent comfort me.

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Author's Note: Okay, so my Beta, Mel, is from Australia and had never heard of Spongebob Squarepants, which is a cartoon for kids we have here in the States. So for those of you deprived of the insanity that is Spongebob, I will be placing a link to the theme song and an episode of the show on my profile so you can at least have some clue what I'm talking about. Also she was unfamiliar with the term "pink elephant in the room" which is basically a way of saying that there's something big that in reality you are totally incapable of ignoring and yet you are doing your best to anyway.

**_Okay, so that's it. Let me know what you think. Please leave me reviews…I Love reviews and I do my best to respond to any that I get. Thanks for reading guys and keep your eyes peeled for a companion to this chapter in my extras story. I haven't had a chance to write it yet, but the last two chapters are just begging for a Seth POV!! If you haven't added it to your alert, you might want to since I won't have any way of letting you guys know when it's posted otherwise without posting a fakeout chapter which I really don't want to do to you guys. Thanks again!_**

**_Featured Author: SilverAngel 1234 has been following these stories pretty much since the beginning as well. She doesn't have any Twilight fic, but she does have a story called Luna for Maximum Ride. I still haven't read Maximum Ride, but my Mom did and said it was really good, so if you've ever read it and are interested then why don't you check out her profile and see her story. As usual, you can find her in my favorite author tab of my profile!_**


	15. Madness, Mood Swings, and Miracles

_**A/N: For those of you that are interested but do not have it on story alert, Seth's POV of Chapters 13 and 14 are now posted in the extras story. I have also posted a link to the song referenced in the chapter in case on my profile in case you are curious. Enjoy the chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of it's characters, nor do I own the Stabbing Westward song that I mention in passing in the story. **_

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**15. Madness, Mood Swings, and Miracles**

The days that followed Eleazar's revelations about my ability, or whatever you'd call it, were interesting. I spent the rest of the three day weekend either spending time with Carmen and Nessie or working with Edward and Eleazar. Carmen was wonderful, sweet, and caring. She and I really enjoyed spending time together and often found that when everyone was gathered together throughout the weekend that we would gravitate to one another. Part of what really deepened my respect for Carmen was her caring devotion to my poor hugely pregnant sister.

The remainder of my time was spent mostly with Eleazar and Edward as we discussed my dreams attempting to dissect them and discover what parts were most likely prophetic. In the end they decided that of course the Volturi coming was a definite prophesy, along with the pack threat, the family threat, and an interest in Jake and Nessie's baby. Eleazar suspected an interest in acquiring my own abilities to their ranks would also come into play and was most likely an undercurrent in my first dream since they were holding me as a live prisoner. They also led me in exercises with various members of my family attempting to test the limits of my abilities. I quickly discovered that I had very little control over what I was and was not able to pull from my family and it came as no surprise to me that I was most talented in utilizing my abilities with Seth.

The night we spent in our bedroom after Eleazar divined my abilities taught us that as we were both hit with stronger and stronger waves of love and lust rippling through our bodies with every touch and kiss. Knowing why it was happening and understanding how it worked resulted in the exchange of emotions and energy that was almost physically palpable as we explored each other slowly and gently. It was less like a passionate fury and more like a slow loving worship of one another that left us both breathless and weak.

Considering my exchanges with Seth, it was also not surprising that the other person that I seemed most able to purposefully exchange energy with was Jasper. Edward and Eleazar theorized that was probably due to his ability being the closest to the giving end of my exchanges with people. I drew abilities from them, but all I really had to give in return was my love and affection, thus basically already instinctually mastering one of the many aspects of Jasper's gift.

After the long and stressful weekend, Carmen and Eleazar bid us goodbye with promises to return in the near future and my return to school provided a welcome escape from the emotionally charged weekend. I only had two more days of classes before finals began and since I was a senior who maintained an A average both quarters, I was exempt from finals and got to have three extra free days before Christmas break began. I enjoyed my last two days of classes that were basically reviews for finals that I didn't even have to worry about, so for my friends and I they were pretty much free days too. It was nice to have some stress free fun with my friends for a change, but my shortened week was bittersweet as Seth was called once more to California for two weeks. I begged everyone to let me skip the last two days and go with him, but my parents put their feet down and wouldn't allow it. It was frustrating because I had been allowed to skip just as much for my birthday, but I also understood that since this was a working trip, they were concerned about me being alone and unguarded. It seemed silly to me because it's not like a troop of vamps could just march right up to me in sunny California and steal me away during the broad daylight and Seth would be around most evenings, but they wouldn't back down so I was left behind to face a week and a half without Seth with no school to distract me.

Once I had my last two days of school behind me, I ended up enlisting the help of the pixie shopping Nazi to help me finish my Christmas shopping because I was way behind and was having a particularly hard time finding the right gift for Seth and also just to help distract me from the gaping hole in my chest that I felt when Seth was gone. Of course, shopping with Alice was probably the wrong thing to do because while I wanted to find sweet and heartfelt gifts for my loved ones, she went for the most expensive and most highly recognizable designer merchandise instead. Finally after two painfully long days shopping in New York I had finished my shopping and returned home with Alice to mope for the next seven days.

Of course my Seth called every night and texted perpetually all day while he was gone, but it wasn't enough. There truly was nothing on earth that compared to being in his arms and having his warm calming scent surrounding me. It was too sad and lonely in our house, so to the great joy of my parents and siblings, I moved back into my old room during the time he was away. I had to admit it was fun living with them again and we all seemed to have a new appreciation for me being under the same roof now that it was a novelty.

There were some other benefits to me having so much free time that wasn't filled with school and Seth. Jasper and Emmett decided to utilize my empty week in order to up the stakes on my defensive training. We started trying to see if we could tap my abilities to increase my strength and agility even more and transitioned into training me with new forms of martial arts that would eventually lead to weapons training, not that weapons would do a lick of good against vamps, but I was still excited. I had to admit, I loved learning the martial arts stuff. It made me feel not only more powerful and safer, but also more graceful, capable, and independent.

Even though I was living at the main house while Seth was gone, I made daily trips to our house just to get a dose of Seth. I knew it was pathetic, but I couldn't help myself. I would climb into the bed and wrap myself in the blankets and cuddle up to his pillow to inhale his scent and wish he were with me. After I had sufficiently wallowed in my longing to see him again, I would make the bed once more and do a little light cleaning or organizing of the house to have a valid excuse to be there before slowly making my way back to my family at the main house.

The last day before he was supposed to be returning I spent the whole day at the house giving it a good once over before he returned. I tuned the satellite TV to the Sirius Lithium music channel that played nineties alternative music twenty-four/seven and danced around the house as I vacuumed, mopped, dusted, and straightened. I was about halfway through dusting the living room as I rocked my hips and shoulders to the beat and pranced around singing along to the Stabbing Westward song Save Yourself when a warm chuckle behind me made me jump and scream an instant before instinctively taking a defensive stance in the direction of the intruder. I was so relieved when I found myself face to face with the wide smile and twinkling eyes of Seth. I relaxed immediately as a wide grin replaced my look of surprise and I ran to jump into his arms wrapping my legs around his waist and peppering his face with kisses.

"You weren't supposed to be home until tomorrow!" I screeched between my kisses.

"I couldn't stay away another minute so the second my business was done I traded flights." He answered back meeting my excited lips with his own and rubbing my back. "I missed you Angel!"

"I missed you too! The past two weeks seemed to take FOREVER to pass!" He nodded his head in agreement before walking over to the couch and sitting down with me still wrapped securely around his waist. Now able to free his hands from holding me up by my waist, Seth moved his hands to hold my face and leaned forward to give me a long passionate kiss as my hands snaked through his hair and I pulled myself closer. It had been a long two weeks!

We kissed for a long time before he pulled us apart again and we started talking. I asked how his trip went and he caught me up on the meetings and what he needed to do for his next project and I told him about shopping with Alice in New York and Jasper and Emmett stepping up my training.

"Does that training include dance lessons? You were busting some pretty sexy moves there Angel," he said with a chuckle. "I still don't understand how you can love this music so much."

"Hey, if Edward the music aficionado likes it, then it has to have some merit. You just don't know what's good that's all," I responded with a giggle tapping him on the chest as I spoke.

"Well, if it gets you to move like that, then I can't really harbor too much resentment against it I guess," he said with a seductive smile. "So do you think we could have a private dance party sometime?"

"Anytime you want baby," I said with a wink, "just as long as I get to pick the music."

He laughed lightly before he nodded and stuck his hand out for me to shake, "Deal!"

I looked at his hand and rolled my eyes before pushing it out of my way and grabbing his face in my hands crashing my lips into his with all the force I could muster. He met my force and raised me a gallon of passion as he ran his hands eagerly down my back and up and down my legs.

After a while we finally pulled apart again to catch our breath and I sighed. "The only bad part about you arriving a day early is Edward." He looked at me questioningly.

"I arranged with him to be gone tomorrow so I could welcome you home properly." I sighed again with a slight pout.

"Ah," he responded with a nod of understanding. He was just about to open his mouth to say something more when my phone started sounding my text alert. I reached into my pocket and touched the button to read the incoming message.

I felt the wide smile spread across my face as I read the message and then looked up at Seth through my eyelashes. "It's Edward, he just let me know that he and Bella will be leaving in the next five minutes," I whispered before biting my lip seductively watching the twinkle brighten in Seth's eyes as his own sexy grin took over his face a split second before he pulled me tight against his chest again and began his passionate kissing once more.

We stayed like that for the next five minutes doing our best to allow Bella and Edward a clean getaway before Seth stood up again with me still hanging around his neck with my legs wrapped securely around his waist and carried me up the stairs to our bedroom where we happily remained until the next morning.

When I opened my eyes to blink at the bright morning sun I took a deep breath savoring Seth's scent that perfumed the air all around me. I smiled and rolled onto my side burying my face in his chest before stretching up to place light kisses on his neck. Seth took a deep breath and sighed with a small contented smile before turning his head to look at me. We just lay there for the longest time staring into each other's eyes, so grateful to be together again.

Eventually we pulled ourselves begrudgingly out of bed and got cleaned up before walking over to the main house to see what was going on. Nessie was there laid out on the sofa grumbling, which was usual these days as Rosalie sat on the end of the couch with Nessie's feet in her lap massaging them with lotion. I asked how she was doing and she grumbled at me for a moment from under her arm that was shielding her eyes before she stopped mid sentence and removed her arm looking up at me and apologizing almost immediately. I smiled at her with a small chuckle and then bent down to talk to the baby for a moment. Nessie always laughed at me for talking to the baby as though the little one were already out and understanding what I was saying, but I insisted that when the baby was born she would know her Aunt Lina's voice since it would be one of the first she would hear with me being Nessie's birth coach and all. I remained adamant after all of my dreams that the baby must be a girl…I just felt it in my bones and I was beginning to really trust my instincts.

Nessie was now thirty-six weeks along with only four weeks to go until her due date, although Dad kept reminding us all that the baby is considered full term at thirty eight weeks, so she could go into labor up to two weeks early and it would be fine, or she might go beyond her due date too. Ness was hoping for sooner rather than later. In the meantime we were fully prepared and ready to go. Due to her unique biology, Nessie had to turn to my father for her prenatal care, thus we had everything all set to deliver our little tribrid right here at home. The only ones who would be in the room would be Jake, Dad, and me. Seth and Edward would sit outside in case of emergency to get any needed supplies or additional help if necessary. It pained Bella to know that she couldn't be there for her first grandchild's birth, but she was still relatively new to the vampire lifestyle and while she had amazing self control, the lure of free flowing blood would be far too much of a risk.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with my family before making our way back to our own house that evening to have a quiet supper together and finally take some time to sit and enjoy our Christmas decorations in peace. This holiday season had been so busy so far with visiting vampires, finals, and business trips that we really hadn't gotten a chance to just sit and bask in the beauty of our home decorated for Christmas.

The next few days passed much in the same way. Eager to make up for lost time while Seth was away, we spent a lot of time together just enjoying being near one another. We forced ourselves to separate a few hours each day to allow Seth time to work on his newest project and I would go off and either find Jasper and Emmett for more training or go spend time hanging out with Nessie trying to keep her spirits up.

Dad had ordered her to stay off of her feet as much as possible this week because her blood pressure had been creeping up and she wasn't quite to full term, so he wanted her to play it safe. A pregnant Nessie was a grumpy Nessie, but a pregnant Nessie on bed rest was a nearly unbearably grumpy Nessie. I'm not sure why, but it seemed like during the past few days the only person that could be around her without being totally annihilated by a freak mood swing was me.

Between his knack for annoying her and her sudden inability to put up with his loud snoring, Jake was now permanently relegated to sleeping in the guest room or on the couch snuggled up to a baby monitor in case he is needed. Thankfully he was a good sport about it and I found myself wondering how much of that was due to his love for her and how much was due to the imprinting thing.

Ever poor Jasper was useless against her fury. He had attempted to go and help mellow her moods, but it backfired when her massive mood swings got the better of him and he ended up inadvertently amplifying her moods instead of offsetting them infecting the rest of the family with her annoyance leading to a massive yelling match between my siblings. Thankfully I was at school for that lovely event.

I liked spending time with Nessie and doing things for her. I knew that there was more to her moods then just being irritable due to her physical state, it was more about her fears for the baby's future and her own capabilities as a mom. I knew she'd be great, but you could tell that she still wasn't sure of herself.

Our days continued on like this, poor Nessie on bed rest and the rest of the family scrambling to keep her happy. It was almost funny to watch the strong beautiful vampires tiptoe around her for fear of invoking the wrath of the hormonally crazed mother to be. Of course it was a lot easier to find it funny being the one person who had never incurred her wrath. I'm sure I'd be on edge too if she ever turned any of it on me.

Finally the day was nearly here, it was the day before Christmas Eve and I left Seth alone to work while I wandered over to the main house to check on Ness. Today she was officially thirty-eight weeks along and Dad wanted her to be close to the house at all times so that when the moment arrived, she would be near the birthing suite he had set up and we wouldn't have to worry about transporting her while in pain. I walked in to see the normal flutter of nervous vampires scurrying around the house looking even more tense than usual. I made my way to the living room to find Nessie stretched out on the couch frowning at the ceiling.

"Hey Ness, what's up?"

"Stupid ugly ceiling is what's up. I'm so sick of staring at this ugly white ceiling. I am so ready for the kid to be out already!" She growled.

I smiled at her as I rubbed her arm with my hand comfortingly. "Just a wee bit longer sweetie and when you hold that beautiful baby in your arms, all of this will be a distant memory."

"Better be," she moaned throwing her hand over her eyes in disgust. I moved to sit on the arm of the chair up by her head and ran my fingers through her messy bronze ringlets that were fanned over the pillow under her head. I rubbed the tips of my fingers on her scalp lightly scratching as I massaged and she sighed and I saw a small smile grace her perfect pink lips. I started to hum the lullaby Edward had written for her as I continued to gently massage her scalp before pulling my fingers through her hair and after a few minutes she was breathing steadily and her arm relaxed across her face as she drifted off to sleep.

I stood up and quietly walked back to the kitchen where my whole family stood staring at me as I smiled.

"How do you DO that?" Bella asked with a hint of awe mixed with exasperation in her voice.

I shrugged, "I dunno, I just keep myself relaxed and just do the things that I think would be nice if it were me. Just following instinct. Besides, it helps that I'm not here all of the time. I'm a novelty!"

"Bet she's using her ability too…she has to be." Alice whispered from across the room.

"If I am, I'm not aware I'm doing it. I'm just sort of going off what I read online about babies, if you are tense then they'll be tense, but if you just relax then a lot of times they will too. You guys are all cats on a hot tin roof and I think it's stressing her out even more." I laughed and ran a hand down poor Jasper's arm. He looked so on edge as he sat perfectly straight at the counter with a tense and pained expression on his face as he was constantly bombarded by the tension of all the family members around him. He looked at me and smiled as his shoulders relaxed infinitesimally.

I walked over to the fridge and pulled out supplies to make turkey sandwiches and busily constructed two. After I finished with the sandwiches I got out two plates and placed one on each plate piling a handful of sun chips next to it and tossing a dill pickle on the edge of the plate. I looked for something to drink and pulled out the bottle of apple juice pouring two glasses and then looked up to see that everyone was staring at me confused. I chuckled before picking up one plate and glass and taking it into the living room sitting it on the coffee table in front of Nessie for when she woke up and then returned to the kitchen to grab my own and sit at the counter next to Jasper to eat with my family still watching me appearing completely perplexed.

"Just trust me guys," I whispered before taking a second bite of my sandwich.

After a while they all relaxed and wandered off into the adjoining rooms to busy themselves. Just as I was finishing the food on my plate we heard Nessie's groan in the next room followed by "Oh, turkey and sun chips. Awesome!" and then the sounds of crunching. All eyes in the room turned to stare at me in disbelief and I just smiled and shrugged again before walking to the sink to wash my dish and return to the living room to sit with Nessie.

"Tans for the sanich Ina." Nessie mumbled through a full mouth.

I laughed, "Don't mention it Ness. Would you like anything else?"

She shook her head no and we sat and talked as she greedily consumed the sandwich and downed the apple juice. We sat for a while longer talking about movies and books and anything else I could think of that would take her mind off of her misery. After a few hours she started looking sleepy again, so this time I sat next to her on the floor and rubbed her face and temples with my finger tips as I gently hummed my lullaby this time taking even less time than before for her to drift off to sleep. After I was sufficiently satisfied that she was fully under, I carefully got up and said goodbye to my family as I made my way out the back door and over to our house to find my Seth.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully and we went to bed, excited for the Christmas Eve activities that were to meet us the next day. Due to Nessie's condition we had modified our traditions a bit and were planning to do less Christmas baking and would spend less time at the shelter so that Dad could be back home in case Nessie needed him. I fell asleep cuddled happily in Seth's arms and excited to give him his present the next evening.

It was still dark when my phone began loudly playing the baby themed ring tone I had for Nessie in my cell. I sat up quickly and pulled the phone to my ear answering with a squeaky voice.

"Lina, it's time, get over here," Jakes frantic voice shouted over the line. Suddenly my eyes popped wide and I looked to see that the clock read three am as I jumped from the bed running to the wall to flip on the lights before running to my dresser to grab out a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt to throw over my tank top and boy shorts pajama set.

Seth blinked at the lights and groaned for a second before he noticed me hopping on one foot trying to get my sweats on as quickly as possible and he knew what was going on without me saying a word and was immediately at my side throwing on his own pair of sweats and a t-shirt. Hand in hand we ran to the main house and burst in the back door to see my family sitting around the dining room table with anxious looks on their faces as we sprinted past them and up the stairs to the birthing suite.

Seth took his place next to a very nervous looking Edward out in the hall as I rushed in to see Nessie laying on the bed writhing in pain as Jake stood by her holding her hand and encouraging her as she groaned her way through a contraction. My father stood at the table on the far side of the room prepping his supplies for the delivery.

"I'm here Ness," I said as I took my place at her other side. She looked at me as she relaxed slightly during her break in contractions.

"How far has she dilated?" I asked as I ran my free hand through her hair comfortingly while holding her hand with my other.

"Her water broke ten minutes ago and she's already 6 centimeters." My father answered from across the room.

"How you doing sweetie?" I asked just as another contraction hit and she tightened her grip on our hands as Jake and I tried to comfort her as I talked her through the contraction reminding her of her breathing exercises.

My eyes grew wide as I suddenly realized that while Jake was going to be okay holding her hand through this, my bones probably wouldn't fair quite as well. I suffered through the contraction praying my bones wouldn't snap and once it was over I suggested that I rub her arm to comfort her while she held the bedrail. Nessie started to apologize and I shook my head at her with a chuckle and told her there was no need. I reached behind me to grab a cool wet washcloth from the basin by the window and dabbed her forehead.

Sooner than I expected another contraction hit and this time I ran my hand up and down her arm soothingly as I talked her through the breathing again reminding her of the concentration methods that we had been taught in class. Three contractions later, I was no longer mentioning the relaxation methods after Nessie explained to me with very colorful adjectives where I could put my relaxation exercises, so I reverted to just talking her through the breathing. Thankfully those were the only colorful adjectives hurled at me, but poor Jake endured an endless string of insults and promises to never touch her again throughout the rest of her labor. An hour later she had progressed to eight centimeters. We continued like this as Jake and I did our best to calm and comfort the screaming, profanity throwing Nessie through the endless onslaught of contractions through the dawn.

Finally at eight in the morning she had fully dilated and my father informed her that it was time to push. I felt so bad for Nessie. She was totally exhausted and in so much pain and unfortunately the pain relieving measures my father had tried didn't seem to help at all. I rubbed her arm soothingly and attempted to manipulate my ability as best I could in order to will her all the strength I could muster. I knew it probably would do no good, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances.

With Jake and I supporting her back Nessie leaned forward and pushed as my father coached her while Jake and I counted and then when she relaxed I would remind her to breathe. She pushed again and began to scream and I tried to remind her that in the classes they said to try not to scream and use that energy instead to push. I hated saying things like that to her knowing I would be screaming too if it were me, but it was my job as her coach to remind her, even if it made me want to punch myself for doing it! Surprisingly she didn't verbally abuse me at the suggestion which might have been better than the panicked look I got instead just before she tried to push again holding her breath with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Fifteen minutes and a very gory sight later a beautiful sweet cry filled the room as Nessie collapsed back onto the bed in exhaustion with tears of joy rolling down her face at the musical sound.

"It's a girl!" My father proclaimed as he offered for Jake to cut the cord and wrapped the baby in a blanket and began wiping off the blood and goop covering her precious little body.

After Dad had cleaned her up a bit he handed her to Jake who looked down at her through tear filled eyes with a wide smile on his face. "Hi there beautiful…I'm your Daddy." He whispered at the precious angel in his arms before taking her gently to Nessie's side and laying her gingerly in her arms.

Nessie's face was streaked with tears and sweat, but she still looked radiant as she beamed down at her precious baby girl. "Hello Sarina Isabella." She whispered at the baby before she looked up at me with tear filled eyes, "Sarina, for Jake's mother Sarah, and you Lina."

"Me?" My eyes opened wide and my mouth dropped at the revelation. "Why Me?"

"Well, you were the first one to tell me everything was going to be okay and encourage me to think positively, you were the best at calming me down when I was on bed rest, and you were the first one to guess she was a girl, it just makes sense…and the best part is that it's a real name that already exists, you can look it up online!" She said with a beautiful smile.

My eyes began to tear as the realization hit that I was an Aunt and that this beautiful baby girl was partially named after me. I leaned over to look down at the sweet baby girl who was gazing up at her mother with wide watchful eyes. She was adorable with a little mop of raven curls on top of her tiny head and a beautiful tan skin tone that was lighter than her father's but still much, much darker than her mother's.

Nessie looked down at baby Sarina and cooed at her for a little while before my father took her back and evaluated her and worked to better clean her airway before weighing and measuring her. She was nine pounds seven ounces and twenty two inches long. He then turned to me asking me to clean her up a little more. I gently bathed the sweet little one to prepare her to meet her anxiously waiting extended family and placed her in a tiny little diaper before dressing her in a little pink sleeper and wrapping her in a fresh clean blanket.

I walked back over to Nessie and Jake and since Jake didn't want to leave Nessie's side, they asked if I would take Sarina to introduce her to the rest of the family. I told them I would be honored and walked to the door to have it open before I could reach for the knob.

I stepped through the door to see the whole rest of the family lining the hallway. I walked to Bella and Edward first and gently placed the baby in Bella's arms.

"Meet your granddaughter, Sarina Isabella Black. Sarina, these are your grandparents." I knew I didn't have to say the name because they had already heard it when Nessie said it to me, but I wanted to make the introduction anyway. Bella and Edward beamed down at their newest little miracle that they never dreamed that they would ever get to meet who blinked sleepily up at them as I stepped back to lean against Seth and watch the scene unfold before me.

Edward and Bella eventually passed the baby around to allow the rest of the family to meet her as I slowly slipped back in to check on Nessie. She was sleeping as Jake gently stroked her hair with a look of reverence on his face. I walked over and placed a hand on his back as I leaned my head against his arm.

"Well Daddy, everyone is officially in love with your daughter." I whispered with a smile. "I have a feeling you're going to have to fight her grandma and grandpa to get her back." I chuckled and he smiled down at me.

"She did so great." I whispered a while later as we watched Nessie sleep.

"Yeah she did." He smiled. "I can't believe I'm a Dad!"

"Me either!" I said giving him a slight nudge to the ribs with my elbow. We sat a while longer watching Nessie sleep before I went back down to see how little Sarina was doing.

I walked in to find that Seth was finally getting his turn with her. I stopped mesmerized by the sight of him holding the baby, cooing down at her with a sweet smile and a slight mist in his eyes and I felt my own tears well up as I watched him in awe.

Finally I walked over and sat down on the arm of the chair next to him and he reached over and took my hand and kissed it and then reluctantly handed her over to me getting out of the chair to allow me to sit more comfortably. Sweet baby Sarina was now sleeping peacefully with her tiny thumb in her mouth and she relaxed into my arms and let out a tiny infant sigh.

"We're going to have one of those someday," Seth whispered to me from his perch on the chair arm. I looked up to see his radiant smile shining down on me.

"Just give me about five or ten years to forget what I saw today and then we'll discuss it." I answered back with a shiver. My nearby family laughed and Seth let out a little chuckle as he rubbed his warm hand up and down my arm and smiled.

I sat with little Sarina in my arms for the next hour just staring down at the precious miracle that I had just helped bring into the world. I was exhausted from the short night and the long morning, but I couldn't bring myself to leave this amazing Christmas Eve baby. Nobody moved from their places the whole time, but instead all watched every tiny movement of the little one in my arms. Finally Jake came down announcing that Nessie was awake and wanted to see the baby and I gently passed her to her father and watched them disappear up the stairs to have a private family moment just the three of them.

I smiled and laid my head back on the chair as I looked up at Seth who was sitting next to me on the chair arm and slowly felt my eyelids flutter closed as I dreamed of the precious baby girl who shared a piece of my name.

* * *

_**Featured Author I've been pleased to hear that you guys really have been checking out the featured authors that I have been sharing with you. Thank you so much! Today's featured Author is Esmi76. Emi has been reviewing from the early days of ITSOTD and has recently written her own lemon filled fanfic called A Question of Lust. This is a story where eighteen year old senior Bella is pulled toward her twenty two year old teacher Edward, can they resist the temptation until Bella can graduate and they can be together without risking Edward's career? Highly unlikely! IF you like my extras chapters you have Emi to partially thank for that since she was begging for some steamy details since their first trip to La Push! Hee,hee. Anyway, if you have some time and enjoy the steam then check her story out. **_


	16. Silent Exchanges and Claiming My Oyster

**16. Silent Exchanges and Claiming My Oyster**

I had no idea how long I had been sleeping, but I awoke to find myself curled up on the couch with my head resting in Seth's lap as he gently ran his fingers though my hair. The warm comfortable feeling was suddenly met with the stark contrast of the high-pitched cries of baby Sarina in the background. My eyes shot open and I sat up immediately in fear that something was wrong with her. I turned to look in the direction of the cries and found my entire vampire family circled around her all desperately trying to soothe and comfort her. I looked to Seth for answers and he shrugged.

"Jake and Nessie handed her over a little while ago to get some more rest. They are both really exhausted and she started crying about ten minutes after Jake went back upstairs and they've tried everything, but nothing seems to be helping. Your father checked her over and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her. She's just fussy."

I furrowed my brow and slowly stood up to cross the room and look over Bella's shoulder at the screaming infant in her arms. Everyone looked at me in exasperation and desperation.

"Here, let me try," I whispered as I reached forward and gently tucked my hand behind the baby's head transferring her from Bella's arm to the crook in my own.

"Oh sweet Sarina, what's the matter precious girl," I crooned in her ear as I pulled her against my chest. "It's okay, Mommy and Daddy just need a bit of sleep. They'll be back down soon."

Instantly her screams stopped and she looked up at me blinking her tiny brown eyes slowly. "That's my girl," I continued to croon as I bounced a bit as I walked slowly across the room to the antique rocker that my Mother had moved down from my old bedroom for us to rock the baby in. "Are you missing Mommy and Daddy?"

I smiled down at her as I slowly rocked her back and forth for a few minutes and then looked up at my family all staring with stunned expressions. I shrugged and let out a light chuckle, which caused Sarina to jerk in my arms. "Sorry sweet girl," I whispered, "I didn't mean to startle you. You seem to be a little jumpy huh?" I kept whispering to her in sweet quiet tones just like what I used when I would talk to her in Nessie's womb and a few minutes later she was relaxed and sleeping peacefully in my arms.

I looked back up at the room of envious vampires and whispered with a devious smile on my face, "My talking to Nessie's tummy doesn't seem so silly _now_ does it?" They rolled their eyes still apparently in awe at my baby soothing skills.

After a few minutes I walked back over and handed her off to Bella who was eyeing the sleeping bundle with longing, but the second I stepped back Sarina's eyes flew open and she began to cry again. Bella tried to bounce her and soothe her back to sleep imitating the tones and volumes I used to soothe the upset baby earlier, but to no avail. She looked up at me with concern and I took the flailing infant back into my own arms and she instantly stopped crying.

"Maybe she's reacting to the chill of your skin? It would be a big shock after being so warm inside the warmer than usual Nessie…but she didn't react like this right after she was born. Hmmm…" I wandered back to the rocker as I mused to myself trying to figure out what was going on with my little namesake.

"What's going on here sweet baby girl? Why won't you let your grandma hold you? Is something wrong?" I moved her up to cuddle against my chest as I rubbed slow small circles in her tiny warm back as I closed my eyes and relished in the feeling of the sweet baby girl in my arms that I already loved so dearly.

I was practically floating in the sensation of holding her warm little body close to me when suddenly there was a flash of emotion that flooded my body. It was fuzzy and a little confusing, not a single focused emotion like I was accustomed to, but more an inkling nudge of longing and confusion. It was instantly replaced with a flutter of calm and contentment as I whispered, "Was that you, Sarina?" against the soft curls of her hair. After a few more seconds there was the longing and confusion again.

"Are you missing your Mommy?" I felt another ripple of longing and excitement.

"Oh sweetheart, she's sleeping right now. She's tired from you coming out. Would it be okay if you stay with me a little while longer until she's ready to wake up?" I felt a wave of frustration followed by her little form releasing a tiny sigh and a feeling of acceptance. Her little head turned against my chest as I felt her little nose tuck under my chin and a feeling of comfort and belonging warmed my chest before I felt her breathing become slow and steady and she relaxed once more against my chest and the ripples of feelings stopped.

"Holy Crow!" I whispered in awe. "Did you catch all of that Edward, Jasper?" I looked up at Edward to see his brow crinkled but also a look of understanding in his eyes. Jasper was smiling from his spot next to Alice across the room and he nodded.

"So was that some kind of ability of hers or was it something to do with me?"

"I'm not sure," Edward started, "But it seems like if it was her ability that we would have experienced it when we were holding her."

"Would someone tell the rest of us what the heck is going on?" Emmett finally blurted from across the room where he stood near the rest of our annoyed looking family.

I looked at Edward giving him permission to share for me so I wouldn't wake Sarina by talking and he began to explain my emotional exchange with the baby. "Did anybody feel anything like that while they were holding her?" Edward asked and everyone shook their heads no, including Jasper.

"Jazz? Not even you?" I asked in a shocked whisper.

"No, not like that at least. I sensed her being upset and sad and then her calm when you took her, but not the subtle changes until you drew them out of her. I'm thinking it was probably a lot more of your abilities than hers."

"Yeah, but she seemed to respond in reaction to my questions. Do you think she understood what I was saying?" I asked in confusion as I looked to my family across the room for answers.

"Possibly," Edward finally answered. "I'm having a hard time reading her. I wasn't able to really read her before she was born either. I thought maybe it was just because being so young there is nothing yet to read besides basic emotions, but your interaction was far more complex than that and yet I didn't get much of anything from her directly. Nessie was a very special baby, so who knows what Sarina will be capable of…" his voice trailed off in little more than a whisper as the got lost in his own thoughts.

I sat in the rocker holding her a while longer before deciding to attempt to lay her down in the bassinet in the far corner. The second I was no longer touching her, she began to wail again. I tried rocking the little cradle in hopes that she would drift back to sleep, but after a few minutes I gave in and picked her up again. Instantly ripples of frustration and annoyance traveled through my body and I laughed.

"Okay sweetheart, I'm sorry. I just wanted to see if it was the family you were having issues with or if it was just that you wanted your Mommy or Me. But eventually sweet girl, you're going to have to learn to sleep in a crib on your own. Mommy, Daddy, and Auntie Lina can't hold you all of the time."

A ripple of sadness hit me and I stroked her hair in a loving manner, "Well, it doesn't have to be today sweetie, but eventually okay?" Within seconds she was asleep again. I sat on the couch this time next to Seth who had been watching my interactions with Sarina intently ever since I woke up. I leaned my back against his side and shifted the baby girl so she was resting peacefully in the middle of my chest as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and placed a comforting hand on Sarina's back playing with her tiny raven curls.

"You're going to be an amazing Mom some day," he whispered into my ear. I could feel his mouth smiling on my cheek as he spoke.

"Thanks," I whispered back.

We sat that way for the next hour until Jake eventually stumbled back downstairs in a sleepy haze and looked around the room finally casting his eyes on his baby girl curled onto my chest and smiled. His eyes widened as Edward and Jasper explained what all happened with Sarina in his absence and how she had responded to not only my voice but also my words. He looked back and forth between the sleeping baby in my arms and me and then told us that Nessie was awake and asked if Seth and I would go upstairs with him because Nessie wanted to talk to us.

Jake gently took Sarina from my chest and held her to his own where she happily curled back up and sighed. Seth and I got up and followed him upstairs to Edward and Bella's bedroom where Nessie was comfortably tucked into their bed. She sat up wincing slightly at the effort and scooted with her back to the headboard motioning for Jake to bring over her precious little girl. She took her expertly into her arms and cooed as Sarina opened her brown eyes and stared up between slow blinks.

Jake began to tell her about our experiences downstairs and Nessie listened with her mouth agape before looking down and frowning.

"I don't feel anything like that," she finally whispered in disappointment.

"Well don't feel bad," I finally chimed in, "even Jasper didn't feel anything until I held her. They suspect it's more me than her. It did kind of surprise me that she reacted to my words almost like she understood." Nessie's eyes grew wide at that revelation.

"Sh-she understood?"

"Well, it seemed like it at least." I told her what I had said and the emotions that I experienced in reaction and when I was done she looked down at her baby girl with wide eyes that slowly broke into a big smile.

"I missed you too little Sarina. I'm sorry I couldn't be with you, but I feel better now. You won't have to leave me again for quite a little while."

We stood and talked a bit longer before Jake went to sit next to Nessie on the bed and Seth and I started to excuse ourselves to allow them to have some private family time.

"Oh, no wait," Nessie said with her hand stretched out to us. "We asked you to come up so we could talk to you about something, and then we got so distracted we forgot our original purpose."

We stopped and walked back to the end of the bed and Nessie looked over at Jake and they smiled warmly at each other before he nodded and she turned back to us. "We were wondering if the two of you would be willing to be Sarina's godparents."

This time it was my turn to have the wide eyes. Tears began to brim in them as I shook my head yes. I looked at Seth to be sure that I wasn't speaking out of turn and he was looking down at me with a smile. I turned back to Nessie and in a broken whisper said, "It would be an honor."

She smiled and reached her hand out to me to come and hug her. I walked around the side of the bed and as gently as possible sat down and stretched my arms out to give her a gentle embrace being sure not to cause her or the baby any discomfort. I reached down and touched my lips to baby Sarina's head with my hand still on Nessie's arm and I felt a sudden jolt of happiness and contentment.

"Whoa!" Nessie blurted causing Sarina to jump. She looked down and mumbled an apology to Sarina before looking back up at me. "What was that?"

I smiled at her and shifted my gaze down to the baby and back up to her. "_That _was her…I'm not sure if it was in reaction to the godparent thing or just being with you, but she's very happy right now."

"Wow," both Nessie and Jake whispered as they looked down at their baby girl in reverence and awe. Jake asked if he could feel too and I reached over to touch both of their arms as I leaned down once more to kiss Sarina's head and they both mumbled in awe as they experienced the sensations of joy that were emanating from their daughter. They both thanked me and I promised to do it again sometime when Nessie was healed and things had settled down before Seth and I excused ourselves to go back down to greet the rest of the family.

"That was interesting," Edward said when we finally reached the ground floor. "I wonder if you can do that with anyone else."

I shrugged and we decided to give it a try. We debated over whom to attempt it with and finally decided that Edward and Jasper would remain third parties to observe and I would give it a shot with various other family members. First I reached out and put one hand on Alice and the other on my mother attempting to feel either of their emotions, but I didn't feel anything. We tried various family members, eventually adding Edward to the mix and still nothing. Finally we tried Seth since he was the first that I discovered my ability with and suddenly I felt a wave of love, awe, and admiration surge through me as I smiled up at his twinkling eyes. I reached over to the closest relative I could feel, which was Bella.

I heard Bella gasp behind me and I turned to look at her shocked wide eyes. After a few seconds the shock faded and her face softened into a look of sweet adoration. "Wow, you really do love her more than life itself!" She finally said to Seth. I smiled and turned to look back up at him. Eventually each of my family members came by taking turns experiencing the emotions that were flowing from Seth, which was now also combined with the slightest bit of bashfulness. They were all amazed not only at the power of the emotions that we were able to share between each other and with them, but also the ways in which my abilities seemed to be expanding.

Finally our emotion sharing experiment was over when Emmett spoke up and embarrassed us both completely by commenting that the fact that we still hadn't done the deed was a miracle. He received a few smacks from nearby family members and he half-heartedly apologized before we began discussing what to do about the holiday. I suggested we wait a day or two before trying to celebrate or open presents and everyone agreed. After all, it's not about the actual day, but more about spending time with family. We stayed for a few more minutes before bidding everyone good night and making our way back to our house.

Once we were finally in the door we settled on the couch in the dim glow of the Christmas lights and talked. We discussed the future, how many children we would want, what kind of house we'd like to live in, and where we thought we would end up settling. Seth admitted that since my family has to be so nomadic that we would really prefer to set down more permanent roots near his family and I agreed that it made the most sense.

After talking a while we decided that we didn't want to wait for the rest of the family to exchange our gifts. We were both so excited for the other to open our presents that it was actually pretty funny. We both bounced in our chairs as we watched the other slowly open the paper to reveal what we had given them.

Seth had bought me a few more delicate ornaments for our tree, a bunch of my favorite CD's from Edward's collection that I didn't own yet, a beautiful fur lined black leather aviator coat with black isotoner gloves, and a beautiful long red silk robe.

I adored all of my presents and then watched excitedly as Seth opened the presents I had gotten him. I had intentionally kept the best one hidden behind my back to make sure he saved it for last. He seemed very pleased with the practical and unoriginal presents and thanked me for them all appearing appeased by his bounty.

He could tell from the devious smirk that I couldn't keep off of my face that I had something else up my sleeve though and asked me what I was up to. I slowly pulled the small wrapped package out from behind my back and placed it in his lap. He looked down at it warily before slowly lifting the box and unwrapped the gift to reveal a black velvet hinged box and he cast his eyes up at me in confusion.

"Well, are you going to open it or what?" I finally asked as the crooked smile once more took over my mouth.

He slowly flipped the top open and blinked at the golden band adorned with diamond cut scrollwork all around its circumference.

"Last year you gave me a promise ring for Christmas and an engagement ring for New Year's and I love having something to show the world that I'm yours, so, well, I thought this year that you deserved something that showed that you belong to someone too. It's not fair that only the girl gets to have a ring." I said with a smile.

He blinked at me a second more before the twinkle lit his eyes and his warm smile filled his face. Before I knew it was happening, he flew across the couch and pinned me underneath him as he leaned down to kiss me passionately. My hands immediately reached up to grasp his hair in desperation to pull him closer. We finally pulled apart to breathe, but unwilling to lose the connection; Seth began to run his lips along my jaw, cheeks and forehead.

"I love you my Angel…and I love this ring. It's beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it," I whispered into his ear before planting another kiss on his lips. He slowly pulled me back up to sit on his lap and I took the ring out of the box and showed him the inscription inside.

_My lover, my friend, my always and forever, thank you for being my oyster._

He chuckled when he had read the inscription remembering when we made up after our first fight and I explained to him that he reminded me of the oyster shell I had collected on the beach and how our love was like a pearl hidden inside. I took his left hand and slowly slid the ring onto his ring finger as we stared intently into one another's eyes..

"Thank you for asking me to be your wife," I whispered, "I can't wait."

"Thank you for saying yes," he answered before taking my face in his hands and giving me another long sweet kiss. When he pulled away he examined the ring on his finger as his hands lingered on my face. "It's actually perfect you know. I wouldn't mind it if we used this as my wedding band too…what do you think?"

I smiled wide at him, so happy that he liked it enough to want to wear it for always as his wedding band. "That would be wonderful," I answered before pulling him into another long passionate kiss.

We stayed on the couch together for quite a while as we kissed in the glowing multicolored lights of the tree until I started to feel his body relax under me and remembered that while I had gotten a nap after the amazing morning events, Seth had not and desperately needed some sleep. I kissed him once more sweetly and pulled his arms indicating that he needed to follow me and led him up to our bedroom where I tucked him in on his side of the bed reaching over to place a gentle kiss on his forehead before going into the bathroom to get ready for bed myself. He was already sleeping soundly when I crept back in and crawled into bed next to him and warmth filled my heart when he rolled over to pull me into his arms instinctively in his sleep. I lay there for a while replaying the amazing events of the morning before finally drifting off to join him in his dreamland.

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Author's Note:

_**Okay guys, another chapter out. I hope it's okay. I've been using my stories to escape real life this week (my Grandma passed away on Thursday and the funeral is day after tomorrow), anyway, I hope my writing is up to it's usual standards. I also posted a Seth POV of chapter 15 at the end of last week in the Extras posting. It's his POV of being away from Lina in California and a flashback to when he first saw her picture and the phone call that started it all and ends right after he comes home to see her dancing. It's not very bad on the steam meter, unless you have problems with the reactions her dancing brings out in him. Anyway, it's good background if you are interested. Anyway, please review, good or bad, they seriously help keep me motivated and help me think up some good things in add to the storyline.**_

_**And now, FEATURED AUTHOR: I've been going through my reviews from early ITSOTD and kind of going in order of first postings. Today I would like to introduce you to All The Pretty Horses. She has one very interesting story for Harry Potter called Not Alone: **__**After the final battle, Harry needs a change of scenery. What happens when he finds himself at a wizarding church and runs into someone he least expects? Warning: contains spiritual themes. If you get a chance…go check her out!!! She is under my favorite author's tab of my profile!**_


	17. New Years and Old Photographs

**17. New Years and Old Photographs**

The next week passed quickly. Two days after Christmas Nessie was feeling better and we all sat in the living room of the main house and exchanged presents passing Sarina around the room the entire time. She no longer seemed to have any issues with being in the arms of any of the other family members after that first day. I sensed that she was more secure with her parents now and that allowed her to be with the rest of the family without distress. She was a calm and precious baby who rarely ever cried and I adored spending time with her.

The day before New Year's Eve Charlie, Sue, Leah, and Danny arrived to meet the newest family member and spend some quality time with the family for the New Year's holiday. Everyone adored Sarina and Charlie beamed at his little great grandbaby. Just like when he met Nessie for the first time, he quickly acclimated to the new status after just a few minutes of holding her in his arms.

Sue also greatly enjoyed her first glimpse into the life of Seth and me. She adored the house and went on and on about how sweet and comfortable we were together and how we were going to have a wonderful marriage. Much to Alice's delight, having Sue around forced us to lift the wedding planning ban a day or two early so that we could include her in the process first hand. Alice wasn't surprised to find as we talked that I had some very specific ideas about the ceremony, flowers, colors, and themes and had already compiled a new binder full of research into my preferences. I realized right then that having Alice help me was going to be nowhere near the painful experience Bella had led me to believe, in fact, she made things so much easier!

As the day wore into evening on New Year's Eve the entire family and our guests gathered on the ground floor of the main house to celebrate. In typical Alice fashion, the whole house was decked out in silver decorations and party hats and noisemakers were distributed throughout the house for easy access at midnight. We had a good time sitting and visiting catching up on the latest news from Washington and the pack. Quil and Claire were already expecting their second baby, and both Brady's and Colin's wives were expecting another addition to the family as well. I smiled as I remembered baby Violet squealing and reaching for me a year ago this very night just as Sarina's cries pulled me back to the present.

"Oh, she needs to be changed again…and it's a messy one this time." Nessie commented getting ready to get up and go change her in the nursery on the second floor.

"Oh don't get up Ness," I said walking over and holding my hands out to take Sarina, "I'm already up. I'd be happy to change her."

Nessie smiled at me gratefully as she passed the squirming Sarina into my arms. I pulled her close cooing at her as we made our way up the stairs to the little nursery. I took my time getting the supplies ready to change her and then discovered that I was going to have to change her outfit as well because she had leaked on her cute little pink sleeper. I slowly cleaned her making sure there were not traces of the sticky yellow mess left behind on her skin before putting on a clean diaper and a fresh sleeper and making my way back downstairs. I heard the rolling laughter at the top of the stairs and wondered what was so funny as I carefully made my way down to rejoin the group.

As I cleared the landing and looked down on the scene below to find everyone had congregated in the family room and to my horror Seth, Sue, Charlie, Leah, and Danny were all crowded on and behind the couch by my mother who had my childhood photo albums out and they were all bonding over my pictures as the rest of my family shared their memories of me throughout the years. My face burned with heat as I took the final few steps to join them in the living room, surrendering Sarina to her waiting Grandma Bella and moving to stand next to Seth behind the couch and bury my face in his chest.

My mother turned and smiled up at me as she pointed to another picture on the page. "Oh remember this one honey?" I returned her gaze with a weak smile and a slight nod as she continued on. "This one was only a year or so after she came to live with us. She started to become very aware of the differences between herself and us and one day Alice walked into her bathroom to find that she had gotten out some white Halloween make up and smothered every exposed inch of her skin with it to make her look more like us. It took us forever to scrub all of that heavy greasy makeup off of her body!" Everyone looked at me with twinkles in their eyes and I just groaned and buried my face deeper in Seth's chest. He looked down and tipped my face up to look at him and he smiled down lovingly at me and winked before placing a soft kiss on my forehead and I felt a wave of love and warmth wash through me. I sighed and returned my attention to the book on my mother's lap.

"Oh, this was her first day of kindergarten." She laughed lightly as she pointed to the picture of me smiling happily in a little blue sundress clutching a rainbow colored book bag in my hands. I was standing in the middle of all of my siblings who were looking at me with sad and worried expressions. "She was excited to go to school, but all of those guys hated the idea. They were so worried about her. They watched over her like a hawk and they didn't like the idea of her going to school at all. I'm pretty sure that one of them was watching from a hidden spot on campus all day long every day to make sure she was okay."

"Heck yeah we did!" Emmett boomed from his corner of the room with Rose on his lap. "I scared the crap out of that little creep Clark whatever his name was when he pushed her down and started calling her names during recess about a month into school. I bet he had bedwetting issues for years after that."

"Oh Emmett, you didn't!" My mother exclaimed from the couch having never heard that particular part of the story before.

"Sure I did, nobody was going to bully our girl like that!" He looked over at me with a wide grin and I winked at my big teddy bear of a brother and chuckled. The memory of the look on Clark's face when Emmett came sauntering up to him outside of the school at the end of the day leaning down to warn him that I was to be left alone before pulling me up into his arms was so priceless I would never forget it!

"Oh…how cute is this one," Sue crooned pointing at a picture of me when I was seven. "Is she supposed to be Princess Leia?"

"Oh, let me see," Alice called from across the room and rushed to lean over the side of the couch. "Oh yeah! I remember that stage. She was totally in love with Luke Skywalker the first time she was Star Wars and insisted I do her hair in those stupid buns and dress her in that white robe thing. Then she got around to watching Return of the Jedi and totally freaked when she found out Leia was Luke's sister…but she begged me to dress her like that at least once a month for a full year!"

"So, Luke Skywalker huh?" Seth teased looking down at me with a mischievous smile. "I pictured you more of a Han Solo girl."

I laughed, "No way, Han was a scoundrel and Luke was a gentleman…plus he had special powers. He totally could have fit in at the family picnics!"

Everyone laughed and I heard, "Well, at least I taught her to expect the proper treatment." I looked over to see Edward smiling triumphantly with his arm wrapped around Bella.

"Oh…this was a good one too from around the same time…" she pointed to a picture of me smiling at the camera with my arms loaded with shopping bags so heavy I could barely hold them up, "Lina discovered Shopping!" Alice said with a squeal. "I introduced her to the joys of the mall and she had so much fun trying on all of the little dresses and outfits. It was a great day!"

Seth looked at me surprised until I elaborated, "Yeah, the first day was great, but when we did it again the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that I quickly lost my enthusiasm and haven't really been able to enjoy it since." I smiled ruefully at Alice who returned my smirk with narrowed eyes and an appearance of her little pink tongue, which earned a laugh.

"So what's going on with this one?" Charlie asked as he pointed to one of Emmett and I perched in a couple of tall trees.

"Oh, that was during my tomboy phase when Emmett taught me how to climb trees." I answered from behind him. "I got really good at shimmying up that day, but I had a little trouble with getting back down so Emmett had to climb up and help me down. I got better after that though. A year later I was able to climb up and down a thirty foot oak all by myself."

"I was never more proud!" Emmett boomed from his seat with pride.

"What's going on here?" Leah asked pointing to a picture of me draped from head to toe with Christmas garland with an annoyed look on my face.

"Oh, that was the birth of the Christmas Nazi!" Alice said from her place next to Leah on the floor.

Seth chuckled as he looked over the back of the couch as Sue looked up at me incredulously, "Christmas Nazi?"

I smiled down at her. "Alice calls me that because I take my Christmas decorating very seriously. It's sort of my thing, and this was the first year I sort of got into it. I was so upset that whoever had taken down the decorations the year before had balled them up and made a total mess that I insisted on putting things away every year after that."

"Until Seth came along, she wouldn't even let anybody pick the tree besides herself since she was six!" My mother chimed in with a warm grin. I blushed and shrugged as I stole a glance at Seth who was beaming down at me again with a half smile and a twinkle in his eyes as he squeezed my shoulders again lovingly.

The pages went on as I slowly grew older each story more embarrassing than the one before. Finally we reached the page that had pictures from Danny's first visit to our family's home. I almost died when I saw the picture of me as a gangly ten year old looking up adoringly at a very handsome glasses clad Danny. "She had the biggest crush on Danny." My mother gushed I closed my eyes and wished I could disappear. I could feel Seth's chest vibrate with his chuckles next to me.

"It was so funny," Jasper started in from across the room next to Edward. "He was her first crush and all I felt was this confused combination of adoration, excitement, and desperation as she followed them all over the house."

Edward started laughing as he joined the reverie, "She would walk around trying to think up ways to guilt them into inviting her along when they would go into town to grab a meal or do anything. One time she actually planted one of Jake's shoes in the hallway so she could trip over it and pretend to hurt herself and ended up actually injuring herself and having to be on crutches the rest of the week that they were there and was stuck on the couch not able to do anything with them at all!"

Leah looked up at me with an understanding smile and Danny beamed up at me with a gleam in his eye as he recounted a few of his own memories from those early years.

They turned a few more pages and the stories continued to flow with each new page. "Oh look, these are from last year," my mother said with excitement and I leaned over the back of the couch to see the new pages I hadn't seen before. On the first page was a picture of me standing in front of my Shelby. Then there was one of on the phone. "She spent a lot of time on the phone during that time," My mother said with a sly smile toward Seth and I behind the couch.

The next page had a few of me dressed up for auditions for the play in my red halter dress. Seth whistled under his breath and I smiled up at him from my seat behind my mother on the back of the couch. Rosalie came and stood beside me.

"Oh yes! The dress that left Emmett speechless! That was so classic! Alice and I had just gotten her ready and were getting ready to teach her how to walk in the heels and give off the sexy vibe for auditions when Emmett barrels in to grab something jabbering away the whole time and mid step stops with his mouth hanging wide open, snaps it shut with a loud crack, and then turns and walks out the door without another word! He was so shocked by the vision of his little tomboy baby sister dressed up and looking hot that it took me half the night to get him to say another word!" At this the entire room, including myself burst into loud laughter. Even Emmett couldn't help but chuckle along even though I could tell from the look on his face that he was still a little uncomfortable with the memory.

"Oh and look at this one from Homecoming. She looked so cute! Oh and look at Edward in the background glaring at Connor's back!" Rose cheered again from her place next to me.

"Who is Connor and why was Edward glaring at him?" Sue asked looking confused.

"He was Lina's first boyfriend, Sue, and he had a crush on the tall brunette in pink there and to be honest it was making me angry that he was thinking more about the one in pink than the beautiful girl on his arm." Edward answered from across the room, his eyes narrowed from the memory as though he were reliving it at that moment.

Sue looked up at me for a moment confused knowing that it was around that same time that Seth and I got involved. "Well, it all worked out for the best," I explained. "He was in love with Leighton from the time they were kids, that next morning he came over and broke things off with me as he tried to explain the reasons why and asked if there was more to Seth and me than just friendship and that's when I finally admitted to myself that I had feelings for your son. So really it was all a good thing. Of course if the timing hadn't been such that Connor had asked me out the day before I started talking to Seth, I might have figured it out a bit sooner." I finished off smiling up at Seth and reaching out to take his hand.

"Well all that matters is that you figured it out in the end," He said leaning down to kiss my hand. "I shudder to think if I had continued on with my life the way it was. I didn't even realize how much I was missing out on until you showed up and made everything brighter." He pulled me up off the back of the couch and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I tucked my arms around his back as I buried my face in his chest and sighed.

We finished off the last few pages together, laughing over the memories that we all shared of the past year together and then thankfully they moved on to other things. When I got a chance, I pulled Seth onto the front porch to sit with me on the swing needing a break from the crowded living room and my recent torture in the limelight. I curled my legs behind me and cuddled up to Seth's side burying my face in his heck and as he rubbed his hand up and down my arms. He was so nice and warm, I always felt so cozy in his embrace even in the dead of winter.

After a few minutes of silence I felt him looking down at me and I looked up to find his eyes twinkling down at me. "It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since you agreed to marry me! It's been the absolute best year of my life." Seth sighed as he leaned down and kissed my lips gently.

"Absolutely," I agreed. "I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world." I sighed and melted into his side taking a deep gulp of the crisp cool air mixed with his intoxicating scent.

We sat for a few more minutes of silence reveling in the feelings of love, happiness, and peace that we were sharing before Seth looked down at me again with a sly smile.

"I loved learning about what you were like as a kid. I always wondered about that."

I snorted a little chuckle and rolled my eyes. "Leave it to my family to share every embarrassing story imaginable with my fiancée and future in laws with the greatest detail imaginable. It's bad enough when this happens to a regular kid, but when it happens to me with a house full of vampire's with photographic memories and the ability to not only share a perspective, but also insights into what I was feeling and thinking when I don't even remember those details myself…it's torture!"

He laughed as he pulled me up onto his lap and placed a long sweet kiss on my lips. "Well, I loved it anyway. I love you and I love hearing about how you became who you are." I laughed again before pulling him into another passionate kiss, which was soon interrupted by an excited Alice bouncing in the doorway into the house.

"Come back in you two…it's almost midnight!"

I stood up and grabbed Seth's hand leading him back into the living room where my family was gathered in couples. The large TV on the far wall was tuned to the party in Times Square as the numbers on the bottom of the screen counted down to midnight. I turned and looked up at Seth and I stretched onto my tiptoes and wrapped my hands around his neck weaving my fingers through the soft hair at the nape of his neck. We locked eyes for a few moments until we heard the crowd in the room begin to count down from ten.

Ten…nine…

"I love you." He whispered.

_eight…seven…_

"I love you more." I replied utilizing my crooked smile.

_six…five…_

"This time next year you'll be my wife." He smiled wide and his eyes darkened with love and desire.

_four…three…_

"I can't wait till you're my husband." My wide smile matched his

_two…one…Happy New Year!_

I opened my mouth to say Happy New Year, but Seth attacked my lips before I could get the words out. He grabbed me around the waist and held me up as he filled the kiss with passion and love that vibrated through us. I could almost hear our souls singing with the joy and when he finally put me back down, my knees began to buckle just before he grabbed me around the waist again to support my weight.

"Happy New Year, Angel! It's going to be a great one!" He cheered over the sounds of my family's celebrations.

"Happy New Year, Seth…and I totally agree!"

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Author's Note: Sorry it took so long guys. It was a long week and I just couldn't get myself into a writing mindset. Hope you like the chapter. It all started from a suggestion in a review…so I DO listen and try to incorporate your suggestions in if I can, so Please remember to take time to review!

_**Thank you to my beta Mel…I don't always remember to mention it in my a/n, but I do always appreciate your effort!!**_

_**Featured Author: black011, aka E. is another long time reader of my beloved stories about Seth and Lina. E was very impatient for Seth to come visit! She began begging me very early on because she's a big Seth fan. She also has four really great stories of her own.**_

_**Broadcast is a one shot that details what it might be like if the Volturi announced to the world the existence of vampires. There and back again has the Cullens returning to Forks 72 years after Bella was changed. Timeline delves into the lives of the Cullens before they came to Forks. But my personal favorite is Unexpected Heroes, a collaboration cross over between Twilight and Heroes, two of my favorite fiction worlds. Anytime you have Hiro Nakamura and Edward Cullen in the same story you know it has to be good! So please take time to check out E's stories and thanks for helping support my loyal reviewers!!!**_


	18. Couture Wishes and Off the Rack Dreams

**_Author's Note: There is a companion to this chapter that I posted on my extras posting. It's Seth's POV of what the guys were up to while the girls were away. It would definitely be worth your time and effort to check it out, but wait until after you read this one! I also will be placing links for pics of the dresses described here on my profile page. Thanks for all of the reviews and all of you who are still reading! Love you guys!_**

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18. Couture Wishes and Off the Rack Dreams

The sound of my cell phone chirping Alice's cheery ring tone woke me from my beautiful sleep wrapped in the arms of my wonderful fiancé. Somehow we had managed to have our house to ourselves after we left the New Year's party the night before and took advantage of the alone time as only we could do best. I refused to open my eyes as I threw my pillow over my face attempting to ignore the annoying little tune as I replayed the events of our nighttime explorations in my head with a sigh. The tune stopped for a moment and then immediately began again as I groaned and blindly stretched my hand toward the bedside table that held the frustrating device while keeping my head tucked away under my fluffy soft pillow. My hand finally clasped around my phone and I pulled it under my pillow as I hit send.

"Alice, this better be important or I'm going to wring your neck!"

She chuckled on the other end of the line. "Well somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

"Who's awake? My head is still hidden under my pillow and my eyes have not opened yet. I am nowhere near awake!"

"Well you need to get moving. We leave for New York in twenty minutes."

"New York?"

"Yes…New York…wedding shopping trip with the girls…any of this ringing a bell?"

"That was today? I thought we were doing that tomorrow?"

"We're going there today, spending the night, doing more shopping tomorrow and coming home tomorrow evening."

"Ugh! I never agreed to an overnight! I gave you one day Alice!"

"Yes, and Leah gave me one day…one plus one is two!"

I furrowed my brow, "You are an evil little manipulative pixie. I love you but there's a very thin line between love and hate and you are toying with it today missy."

"Oh you know you only love me…now get your cute little hiney out of that bed and ready. We leave in nineteen minutes and don't worry about packing a bag…I've got you covered."

"Of course you do. See you in a few." I groaned as I pulled the pillow off my face to find that the sky was barely a dusky orange. I groaned realizing it was barely dawn and I was already awake having gotten very little sleep the night before. I rolled to my side to see that Seth was watching me expectantly with a sad smile on his face.

"Alice is stealing you from me overnight?"

"Yeah, I have to be over there in eighteen minutes according to her and we won't be back until tomorrow night." I answered with a pout.

He shot me a devious smile a split second before he followed his little tradition and nibbled my lower lip a second before kissing my frown away. As always it left me giggling and smiling when he was done. He pulled me to his chest and buried his nose in my hair taking a deep breath.

"What am I supposed to do without you for two whole days?"

"I'm sure you and the boys will figure something out. It will give you a chance to get to know your future brother in law a bit better too. You and Danny have had no real time to get to know one another at all. This might be your best shot."

"You know this will be miserable right? Two imprinted wolves and the only living male imprint forced to be away from our soul mates for two whole days…it's going to be pathetic."

I laughed and kissed his cheek, "I'm sure it won't be that bad. It's better than two whole weeks apart. We will survive."

I started to shift my weight to roll out of bed but was stopped by his strong arms around my waist. "Just one more minute? _Please_?"

I sighed and rested back against his chest…Alice was going to kill me, but oh well, she'd survive. It's what she gets for not giving us time to mentally prepare. After a couple of minutes I finally had to pull myself from his grip with promises of returning with a New York Cheesecake before he finally allowed me to go get in the shower. At this point I only had about ten minutes to shower, get ready, and get in the car to go.

I ran over to the main house with less than a minute to spare with my hair still soaked and a pair of sweats on. Alice rolled her eyes and pulled out a bag commanding that she would sit with me to get me ready during the drive. We all loaded up into two minivans Alice had rented and went on our way as Alice primped and made me change clothes on the road. All of the men were left behind to their own devices as all of the women, Sarina included, made our way to New York City.

As soon as we hit the city I knew what was coming next. Our first stop was Madison Avenue to the Vera Wang Flagship Salon. I tried to convince Alice not to stop here knowing it would be a total culture shock for Sue and Leah, not to mention that I wasn't really the biggest fan of the Vera Wang styles I had seen in the past. I know it's unusual for me to say this, but her clothes seemed a bit plain, especially when coupled with the cost, but Alice was adamant. Poor Sue and Leah looked scared and embarrassed to be there as we were ushered into the elegant viewing room and the associate brought a parade of dresses for us to admire, but as I knew before we even walked into the door, my dress was not here. I knew in my heart that the dress I was meant to wear when I marry Seth would jump out at me and there was nothing like that in this place.

Alice was greatly disappointed as we left the store with nothing to show for the time spent there, but was almost immediately excited again as she suggested our next stop. Three ridiculous stops that were nothing like what I would ever go for I gave Alice the warning that if this next place wasn't inline with my or Leah's style we were going to make an appointment for the nearest David's Bridal for the next morning. Alice's horrifying screech could be heard for six blocks.

It was ten at night before we finally settled into our hotel rooms. All eight of us ladies were exhausted, frustrated, and annoyed. Alice was no longer talking to me, Leah and Sue looked like they could cry, Nessie was at her wits end trying to get Sarina to settle down and go to sleep, while Bella, Mom, and Rose were doing their best to try to calm both of us down.

Maybe I was the problem, but it really felt like Alice was being completely unreasonable with her insistence that everything be couture. None of this was Leah's style at all, and I could care less who designed the dress as long as it's attractive, reflective of my personal tastes, and not exorbitantly priced. I was determined that my wedding would not cost the equivalent of a middle class American household's yearly income if it wasn't entirely necessary.

I know this all would have been a lot less painful if Alice's favored designer who custom created all of the wedding dresses in the family for the past three decades hadn't had a heart attack and was forced to retire. This ill-fated news set Alice into a frenzy of planning panic. She had believed that my dress was all set and well on its way to being delivered in time for the wedding. Having my dress once again be an issue at hand, she was in rare form and I knew I was being difficult, but you only do this once…or at least I would only do it once, and I wanted it to be perfect.

Alice stormed off into the room she shared with the non sleeping members of the party to call Jasper and whine and I barricaded myself in the bathroom of the room I shared with Nessie and Sarina and grabbed my cell phone out to belly ache to Seth.

"Angel, this is our wedding. If you don't want one of the fancy designer dresses then that's your choice. Just make the appointment with the bridal shop and if Alice doesn't like it then too bad."

"I feel horrible in a way, she's trying so hard and she does it all out of love, but this is my wedding and I want it to feel like it's my wedding, not me stepping into the bridal spot in Alice's wedding…you know?"

"Yes, I do. Have you told her that…I mean using the exact same words you just used with me?"

"Yes and no."

"Can't be both, babe."

"Well, I guess I haven't used those EXACT words."

"You should. She loves you and I really think she would understand."

I sighed and bumped the back of my head against the tile of the wall behind my back a couple of times before finally agreeing to go talk to her when I was done talking to him. We talked a bit longer and I smiled as Seth told me about all of the antics the boys had been up to in our absence.

Seth, Danny, Jake and Charlie had gone fishing and much to Charlie's chagrin Seth was the only one to understand the importance of staying quiet and letting things be peaceful. By the time the very short trip was over, Jake had managed to scare off all of the fish by flipping Danny into the freezing water while wrestling resulting in a rushed trip to the house with a stripped down and very uncomfortable Danny wrapped in the arms of an equally uncomfortable Jake to prevent him from getting hypothermia. That visual left me laughing so hard I was crying and resulting in Nessie beating on the door yelling for me to keep it down so I wouldn't wake Sarina.

We talked a few minutes longer before I finally made myself say goodnight and force myself to take the long walk down the hallway to the room where Alice was sulking. I gently knocked on the door and my mother opened it with a shy smile as she ushered me into the room. Rosalie looked at me and rolled her eyes toward the bathroom where Alice had apparently barricaded herself as well. Bella looked at me and smiled and then walked over and put an arm around my shoulder.

"This would be why I let her do all of the planning, but then again I wasn't as gung ho for the wedding part as you are either," she said with a smile as she squeezed me. "This means a lot to you and so you want a definite say and that's okay. It's your right. Just have a heart to heart with her and let her know what you are really feeling. She loves you. She'll listen."

"I know…that's what Seth said. That's actually why I'm here," I whispered to her before walking over the bathroom door and knocking lightly.

"Ali, would you come out and talk to me please?"

It was silent and I leaned forward resting my forehead against the door before bouncing it against the wood a few times. "Please Alice. I love you and I appreciate what you are trying to do. Please talk to me about all of this."

The door opened suddenly just as I leaned my forehead against the wood again leaving me off balance as I stumbled forward to bump into the tiny four foot eleven marble statue standing before me. A small chuckle rippled through her chest for a split second and then the stern mask returned to her face.

"Come sit out here and talk to me please." She followed in silence and as I sat on the edge of one of the two king size beds in the room, she sat on the one opposite me and gracefully folded her legs under her before looking at me again with the mask still on her face.

"Alice, I love you, and I love all that you're trying to do for me. I'm sorry that I'm making all of this so hard for you, but to be honest I care a great deal about this wedding and I want it to reflect who Seth and I are."

"I don't want to be a placeholder in a wedding that really is more someone else than me. I'm not couture and designers and hand-stitched silk. I'm an off the rack, make me look nice on a budget, put the money you might have spent on that four thousand dollar dress into our building fund for our house and put me in a five hundred dollar dress instead type of girl. The thought of spending that kind of money on a glorified party makes my stomach turn."

"I love you, but I really need to do this my way. And poor Sue and Leah, this is WAY out of their world of possibilities. I mean you have no idea how freaked out they are right now. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but all of this," I said with my hands waving around the fancy hotel room and the designer shirt sitting on her delicate frame, "really isn't me."

Alice looked at me the longest time in total silence. I could hear my lone heart beating louder and louder in the silent room. Finally after what seemed like an eternity the mask on Alice's face broke into a wide toothy smile.

"Well why didn't you say so sooner? We didn't have to come to New York after all!"

I let out the breath that I didn't even realized I was holding and narrowed my eyes a little at the devil pixie as I replayed the various conversations we had over the past few weeks. I had said similar things over and over; I had just never come straight out and said in no uncertain terms that I wanted off the rack specifically. She giggled a little and bounced for a second before scowling at me.

"Ewww…this means I'll have to wear whatever off the rack bridesmaid dress you pick for us too won't I?"

I smiled a wide devious smile, "Yep! And I don't want to hear a single word of complaint from you either or else your bridesmaid status will be revoked and you'll be relegated to planning status only."

She frowned and pushed out her bottom lip in a cute little pout as if she were contemplating the alternatives before sighing and jumping from her spot across from me to sit next to me on the bed. "Okay, fine. I'll wear whatever cheap scratchy dress you choose for me, but just so you know, this means that I'm going to go all out for Prom. No arguing with whatever I make you wear."

"Fine, besides, I loved my dress last year Ali. I trust you with prom whole-heartedly. It is just really important to me that certain things about my wedding go a certain way. I hope you understand."

She smiled widely at me, "Of course I do. Who do you think you sponged your controlling nature off of anyway?"  
"Edward?" I asked with a sarcastic smile. She laughed and bumped me in the side with her hard little hip that would most likely leave a bruise, not that I was going to complain. I was just happy to have my cheerful Alice back from being possessed by the shopping Nazi.

I left the room greatly relieved to have made my peace with Alice and stopped at Sue and Leah's room on my way back to the one I was sharing with Nessie and Sarina. Sue opened the door still looking like a deer caught in headlights. She invited me in and I was so happy to see the tension melt off of their bodies as I explained the situation and that we were going to downgrade to David's Bridal for the rest of our dress shopping experience and that tomorrow we were going to have a nice relaxing day enjoying the city before going home. I was going to call early the next morning to set up our appointments with a David's Bridal close to home for the next available day.

I made my way back to my room as I texted Seth letting him know how the talk went and the compromises made and then quietly crept back into the room I shared with a now heavily sleeping Nessie and Sarina and crawled into my bed to sleep.

The next morning we encountered a much more relaxed group of ladies. We had a leisurely breakfast followed by a morning of sight seeing and I made a special point of stopping to pick up the cheesecake I promised Seth before making the six-hour drive back home. We were all excited to see our boys and from the phone calls and text messages we kept receiving, they were even more anxious to have us home than we were to get there. I had a feeling we were going to hear some pretty great stories upon our return.

Once we pulled in the driveway, we were each immediately pulled away by our significant others for alone time. It was so funny to see the desperation in each of their faces as they grabbed the hand of the one they loved and led them away as quickly as their bodies would allow. In other words, the vamps pretty much dematerialized in front of our eyes with Jake and Nessie only slightly slower to disappear toward their house with Sarina's car seat in hand leaving Seth and I staring in bewilderment at Leah, Danny, Charlie and Sue. We all stood in silence for a moment before breaking into laughter as Seth took my hand leading me back to our house and the others made their way into the main house to go relax in the guestrooms.

We were halfway down the path to our house when I broke the silence. "So what exactly happened this weekend? I've never seen the guys so desperate for alone time with their wives."

He laughed and shook his head. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Oh, I bet I do!"

He led me the last few steps up to our front door and swept me up into his arms bridal style carrying me through the front door. "Do you want to hear the stories or would you rather go upstairs with me? I REALLY missed you!"

I laughed and wrapped my fingers through his hair as I pulled him down to kiss me. "Okay, rain check on story time, but I will be cashing it in later." I gave him a wink before pulling him back to my lips. He started toward the stairs and I made him stop a second.

"Wait! We need to put this cheesecake in the fridge first," I said holding up the nondescript white box in my hands.

"You really brought me back cheesecake?" He had a huge smile on his face and that sweet loving twinkle in his eyes.

"Of course silly, I did promise after all!" He laughed and kissed me once more before walking to the fridge and allowing me to open the door and put the box on the top shelf before turning back to carry me up the stairs to our bedroom.

My alarm clock woke me early the next morning. Seth rolled over and grabbed me once again unwilling to let me escape our bed.

"Baby, I have to go. The girls and I are going dress shopping today."

"Nooo, you just got back."

"Yes, and we didn't get anything taken care of, so today we're going to David's Bridal to see what they have there."

"Can I come too then?"

I smacked him on the arm, "Heck no! What part of the word BRIDAL confuses you? You can't watch me shop for my wedding dress. I want it to be a surprise for you. No peeking!"

He pouted and for once I got to be the one to chase his pout away. We both laughed as I placed one more kiss on his lips before quickly hopping out of his reach and running across the room to the door. I was just about the grab the door knob when I felt his warm arms lock around my waist pulling me back against his chest with my feet dangling in the air in front of me. I screamed and kicked and we both laughed as he carried me back to our bed turning me toward him as he tossed me down on the mattress. He leaned down and ran his hands through my hair as he placed a long sweet kiss on my lips and then instantly deepened it.

After a couple of minutes I pulled away to find that he had somehow managed to maneuver us so we were both back in the middle of the bed where we had been when we started. I knew I needed to get going because the girls were waiting for us. I suddenly had an idea…

"Okay, well, if I'm staying here with you then you have to dish about whatever it is that happened yesterday that you don't want to have to tell me about… but if you let me go then I'll see if I can pull it out of the girls while shopping today and you might just get off the hook."

He looked at me as though he were calculating for a moment before he finally released me with another short kiss and a wish of good luck in finding what we wanted on our trip. I smiled and jumped out of bed running to the bathroom to take a shower and make myself presentable for dress shopping and rushed over the main house where I discovered I wasn't the only one who had a hard time getting away from their counterparts for the trip.

"We are _so_ comparing notes on what we found out happened yesterday later, but right now we have to go or we're going to be late," I yelled as the ladies grabbed their purses and coats and made their way out to the minivans. Jake had thankfully offered to keep Sarina today so we could shop with little distraction.

We made it to the bridal store and began looking through the countless racks. I really was hoping to find the perfect off the shoulder dress. I had always daydreamed of having an off the shoulder dress, but I wasn't finding any that I really liked. The only off the shoulders they had were much plainer than I had envisioned. Typically I am a bit of a plain jane when it came to clothes and styles. I didn't like to stand out, but I always thought that my wedding would be the one day when I would sparkle and shine. I wanted something more decorative than the plain necklines I was finding so far.

After exhausting all of the off the shoulder options I could find, I migrated to some strapless dresses that had nice beading that caught my eyes and a few with cap sleeves. With the help of Alice and my mother, eventually I had selected a number of dresses to try making my way over to the dressing rooms. I was happy to see that Leah had also found some selections and was heading into the cubicle next to me. She was so much smaller than me that her dresses were on the far side of the store, so she and Sue had gone their own way to find dresses for her and from the pile they had to choose from had found quite a few that she had liked.

I stepped into the stall with my mother helping me and slid into the special undergarments necessary for the dresses I was trying and was slipping into my first dress when I heard the ladies commenting on Leah's first dress. It was pretty but not really her. After the zipper was secured the only white halter style dress I had picked up I looked in the mirror immediately knowing that it wasn't the one, but I stepped out for the ladies to see anyway because I knew they would kill me otherwise. They all provided the adequate awes and ohs, but all agreed it wasn't _the one_. We went on like this for a few more dresses and I was just slipping into one of the two I had been most drawn to when choosing the dresses off the racks when I heard a gasp from the waiting room.

"Oh Leah, it is perfect!" I heard her mother say nearly breathless. I smiled and quickly stepped out of the dressing room to see. Leah looked breathtaking in a white strapless dress with a sweetheart scalloped neckline and red flowering vines of lace on the front bodice with pearl accents. It would have been beautiful anyway, but on her perfect Hawaiian tropic model skin and body she looked absolutely amazing!

"Wow Leah, that is SO the dress for you!" I whispered standing next to her and meeting her gaze in the full-length mirror.

"I know right?" was all she could respond with. I nodded and smiled.

Then she looked at me again and her eyes grew wide. "Wow Lina, that dress looks amazing on you!"

I turned to look in the mirror and smiled. I really did like this one a lot. It was an A-line dress that would be strapless if not for the sheer cap sleeves on my shoulders. It wrapped across my midsection just under my chest accenting my waist and had beautiful light blue flower and vine beading on the cap sleeves, across the chest, and down the side of the dress where the material draping the middle of the dress stopped on my side. I smiled as I turned taking in the beading on the back as well. It was beautiful and I loved what it did for my figure, but I wasn't quite sure.

I turned for the critique of my sisters and mother and they all just stood staring at me with glazed looks and goofy smiles.

"You look stunning my darling." My mother finally said and the rest of the girls added in their agreements. I took a few more spins in front of the mirror and then returned to the dressing room to try on the last dress. I had a feeling that if it wasn't the perfect dress that I would go with last one that would have had my sisters in tears if they could cry.

The last dress slid over my head and down my body and fit like a glove. Where the last dress would have needed some slight alteration in the chest area, this was already perfect. I turned to look in the small mirror of the dressing room and my breath caught in my throat and a tear formed in the corner of my eye. It was so far from what I had always thought I wanted, but it didn't matter because this was it, this was the dress that I was going to marry Seth in.

I turned and my mother looked at me with a knowing nod and a big smile as she opened the door and led the way. I stepped out and all of the girls, which now included Leah, gasped and smiled and I nodded before stepping onto the little step in front of the full-length mirrors. I slowly turned taking in my dress, it was almost identical in basic style as the last dress except there were no cap sleeves on this dress and it had a light pink metallic flower beading and was made of a satin material instead of the organza of the other dress giving it a smoother look and feel. It was perfect and the tears slowly rolled down my cheeks as I imagined Seth seeing me for the first time in this dress as I walked toward him to join him at the altar.

"I feel like a princess in this dress," I said in slightly more than a whisper.

"You look like one," Rosalie whispered back now standing at my side. She took my hair in her hands and pulled part of it back leaving the rest to cascade down my back. "Some curls, a tiara here, and a veil and you would put any princess in the world to shame." She smiled at my reflection in the mirror and I took a deep breath and smiled back.

The attendant came back to check on us and smiled at me with a nod. "I do believe you've found your dress? Would you like me to bring a selection of tiaras and veils we have that coordinate?"

I nodded only half paying attention and before I knew it she was standing next to me again with an assortment of items to try on, but nothing felt right. After the fifth veil I turned to Alice. "Do you think we would have time to custom order a veil from somewhere? None of these feel right. And are there other places we could find tiaras?"

She smiled and walked over to me hugging me around the waist. "Absolutely, I know the perfect place and I think I know exactly what you're looking for. Just leave it to me. I'll get you sketches by the end of the week."

"Thanks Ali."

"You look so beautiful Lina. You're going to make the most beautiful bride this family has ever seen!"

"Oh I highly doubt that, but lets get a couple of shots of me in this dress really quickly and then I'll get it off and we can move on to the bridesmaid dresses," I said with a devious smile with instantly made the smile on Alice's face disappear.

A few minutes later my wedding dress was off and taken to the back for safe keeping and to have the bustle sewn into the chapel train so that it would be out of my way after the ceremony. Back in my street clothes we once again returned to the racks in search of the perfect bridesmaid gowns. I was giving my girls free rein. The only requirement is that I wanted them to all be the same length and lilac, the general style was left up to their own personal preferences and had to have my final approval.

After giving them their guidelines, Nessie and I followed Leah to look through the apple red colored dresses that would match the red in her dress that were in stock trying to find something that would suit both of us for Leah's wedding. Since Nessie and I were the only two standing up in the wedding it would be easy enough for us to have matching dresses. After we chose our dresses for Leah's wedding, then Ness would look into one for mine.

The second dress we picked up to look at was immediately agreed upon as the best style as long as it looked good on both of us. Leah's wedding was going to be low key, so we chose a simple apple red tea length dress with a ruched bodice and cap sleeves and to our great joy, it looked great on both of us. Leah seemed relieved to have her shopping for the day taken care of and settled in with a devious smile as she watched the chaos surrounding the hunt for the dresses for my wedding stating that after we worked out all of the major decisions she would wear whatever I told her to.

It was a sea of lilac dresses of various shapes and to my great frustration various shades. Who knew that there was more than one lilac? There was just plain lilac, Victorian lilac, and then a fabric called Wild Orchid that was a much darker lavender color. Suddenly there was a rumble of voices as the girls stood and argued over which color was best and what length. After ten minutes I got fed up and had them line up. I looked at the three color options and the various lengths and then made my ruling that we would go with the long length and after considering the flowers, decided to go with the Victorian lilac color to avoid clashing. With that decision made things went much more smoothly.

When the chaos had finally ended each of my sisters had each chosen a dress very befitting of their individual tastes. Rose of course had a curve hugging trumpet style dress that hung from delicate spaghetti straps from her shoulders and attached to the ruched material that crisscrossed at the bodice. Bella chose a very conservative two-piece with a long a-line skirt and a tank top style bodice with light beading along the neckline and waistline. Nessie chose an empire ball gown halter dress. I chose a one shouldered long jersey dress for Leah with an empire waist that reminded me of a something a Greek goddess would wear. Finally Alice, after ages of whining and complaining, found a dress that she considered passable. She ended up with a strapless satin gown with crisscross ruching at the bodice and a cute little design across the reminded me of a reversed bow with a section of fabric in the middle with a delicate beading. It was beautiful on her, but would require extensive altering to shorten the length.

We humans were exhausted by that point, but held out long enough to pick out shoes to match the dresses and helped Sue and Mom pick out their mother of the bride and groom dresses. We went with a gray empire waisted dress with a matching shimmery organza jacket for Sue. Leah and I both agreed that there was no need for her to have two dresses, so we worked together to choose a dress that wouldn't clash with either service. For my Mom we chose a gray colored satin sleeveless V-neck dress with a ruched bodice and slim skirt. They both looked wonderful and were now all set for the big day as well.

We were all relieved as we left the bridal shop many hours later, happy to have that big part of the planning process for both services out of the way. We made our next stop a local restaurant so that Leah, Sue, Nessie, and I could get some food since we were all starving and were finally able to talk about something besides wedding and bridesmaid dresses.

Unfortunately none of us had gotten any coherent information about what had occurred while we were gone. I had the best bit of info as I retold Seth's account of the frigid river dunk with Danny and the uncomfortable ride home snuggled up to Jake. The ladies got a huge kick out of that story. We all decided that we would do our best to find out what happened tonight and once again compare notes the next day.

We arrived back at the homestead at four in the afternoon. The day had disappeared in our quest to find the gowns we were looking for and now we were all definitely ready to relax. Once again the boys met us at the cars and after taking one look at me Seth insisted I go home and take a nap with him immediately. I wasn't one to argue with any excuse to cuddle up with Seth no matter what time of the day, so after saying goodbye and promising to come over and have dinner with Charlie and Sue later in the evening I made my way home with Seth.

"So did you find your dream dress Angel?" Seth asked after we were settled in our bed and I was cuddled in his warm loving arms.

"Yes I did," I beamed up at him, "and that's all the information you are getting until the minute you see me walking down the aisle."

"Yes ma'am," he said with a smile as he saluted me with two fingers raised to his forehead. "I'm just glad you found something that made you happy."

"Me too…I always wanted to feel like a princess on my wedding day, and I really think I'm going to. I'm so excited! Getting the dresses today made it all finally feel so real and I can't wait to wear that beautiful dress and become your wife!"

He kissed me on the top of my head and held me tighter in his arms. "Me either my beautiful Angel, me either!"

I quickly fell asleep and my mind was filled with dreams of my beautiful wedding under the stars with my handsome Seth at my side.

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Author' Note: So once again. Companion chapter of Seth's POV of this chapter is now available on the extras posting. It's an all ages chapter…no lemons or limes, so anyone can check it out…and it reveals the big secret the guys are keeping about what exactly happened while the girls were away! Go check it out!

**_Featured Author: Marykat! Marykat is typically one of the first to review every time I get a new chapter out and is always full of great encouragement for me. Mary…it means more than you know! Mary has three great Twilight fanfics for you to check out. Twilighted Pets is a hilarious world where Edward Emmett and Seth's personalities are transposed onto her household pets…it's so funny! Destiny of Dreams is my favorite Marykat fic. It kind of is Twilight meets The Time Traveler's Wife. Bella keeps visiting Edward throughout his life during her most vivid dreams. It's a great story that I highly suggest everyone read. Her third fic is Black Friday Alice Cullen Style! The title says it all and is part of the reason I chose her for my featured author since this chapter full of Alice shopping mayhem! Anyway, please take the time to check out her stories…trust me, they're all worth a read and you are totally cheating yourself if you don't at the very least give Destiny of Dreams a peek!_**

_**Thanks again for reading and please take time to review. Love you guys!**_


	19. Revelations

_**Author's Note: Okay this one is short, but I didn't really want to move on to other topics in this chapter, so I just decided to keep it that way. Also my Beta is on a vacation trip, so if there are more errors than usual then I'm sorry.**_

_**I also wrote a Seth POV that will be posted at the same time as this one. I actually like it BETTER than this version because it has his observations of Lina and Emmett which were much more vivid. It's a T rated chapter, so any of you are certainly welcome to check it out.**_

_**Sorry…I know this is long…but I have a new poll on my profile page that you might want to register your thoughts. It has to do with the future of Seth and Lina's physical relationship. Stop in and weigh in your votes. I won't guarantee I'll go along with the results, but I'm curious as to your thoughts…PMs are also welcome.**_

_**Anyway, please enjoy and sorry again that it's so short!**_

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19. Revelations

"What do you mean it isn't your story to tell?" I scowled at Seth getting very annoyed that he was absolutely refusing to tell me what transpired while the girls were in New York.

It had been a week and none of the guys had been willing to divulge whatever it was that had the boys so on edge when we returned home. I was more than certain that the lame cover story that they fed each of us with far too much matching detail was a dead giveaway that it wasn't the whole truth.

Today I decided that enough was enough. I cornered Seth in our house and called him out on the lie reminding him that he had promised me that he would never lie to me and that was when he admitted something happened, but he wasn't at liberty to share.

"Trust me Angel, if I could tell you I would. I know you'd laugh so hard you would cry, but I seriously am not at liberty to share." He looked me dead in the eye with such sincerity that I knew he was telling me the truth.

An epiphany illuminated my thoughts, "So is this an honor code thing or a threat upon your life sort of thing…and remember that you have to tell me the truth."

He sighed and looked away before mumbling under his breath, "It's kind of both."

I tipped up on my toes and planted a kiss full of understanding and forgiveness on his lips before excusing myself to stalk over to the main house. I walked through the back door with determination and straight into the living room where Emmett, Jasper, and Jake were focused on the large screen TV and the videogame death match they were engaged in at the moment.

As soon as I entered the room Jasper's head shot up looking at me with a concerned expression and his gaze followed me as I stepped right in front of the TV and hit the power button. Before I turned around to face the guys I could feel Edward at my side. Emmett and Jake jumped up and began to yell in protest as I turned to face them and walked right up to Emmett's chest with my hands set defiantly on my hips.

"What the hell did you do that for? I had them beat Lina!"

"Forget the stupid video game," I snapped in his face. "Emmett McCarty Cullen, what exactly did you threaten my fiancé with to keep him from admitting whatever the hell it was you guys were up to while we were gone to New York?"

"That little shit, why did he have to go and tell you anything about it?"

My eyes flashed in both anger and excitement that I had him cornered. "Actually big brother, you told me all I needed to know right there. He didn't do anything besides finally admit that he wasn't at liberty to talk about it once I reminded him that he promised to never lie to me, which you evidently threatened him into doing. So now brother bear, YOU get to tell me what happened instead of my poor honor bound fiancé!"

Emmett stood there with his mouth open staring down at me and looking sheepish. By the time he closed his mouth and settled back into the couch all of the ladies of the family had congregated in the family room waiting to hear the explanation he was so reluctant to share. He leaned forward and rubbed his hands hard against his face before looking back up at me. If it were possible for vampires to blush, I knew he would be.

"It was just stupid and too embarrassing to share kiddo. It was a 'in the really wrong place at the really wrong time' kind of thing."

"Yeah, and you've NEVER gone out of your way to share embarrassing stories about any one of us who live here have you? Shame on you!"

"Hey! I wasn't the only one embarrassed, I mean Danny was the one who almost got picked up by a dude at the bar!"

My eyebrows lifted and my eyes twinkled. I could feel the smile playing around my lips. "Bar?" He looked up at me mortified that he had already given away more than he wanted. Silence filled the room for a long time before I finally sighed, "Go on Emmett. I'm not walking away until I hear the whole thing."

He growled and narrowed his eyes at me before he started. "Okay fine. It was Danny's fault really. Chump isn't even here to suffer the consequences either."

I interrupted him, "Oh don't you worry about that. I will be calling my soon to be sister in law and mother in law and letting them both in on the joke once we're done here. Continue."

He groaned and leaned his head against the back of the couch. "Alright, alright…We were all pathetic losers without you guys. We sat around all night with nothing better to do and when you all called after you got to the hotel we were all so happy to hear from you it was sad. After we were done talking we were all sitting around sulking when Danny suggested we go out on the town and find a bar or something to go hang out at."

He paused again not wanting to continue, but I prodded him further. He rolled his eyes. "Okay, so Edward and I agreed to go because we were going to have a pool tournament and Carlisle and Charlie were going to stay home, but we finally convinced them to come too. Carlisle didn't want to go to anyplace locally because of his status in the community so we drove to Charleston. We had no clue where to go so Danny used the GPS on his cell phone and found a place and we went there."

I nodded my head and rolled my hand in front of him motioning for him to continue as I tapped my foot impatiently. He sighed again before leaning forward and blurting out in super fast vamp speech, "Anditturnedouttobeagaybarandatrannyhitonme."

Every female in the room burst into coughing laugher as I doubled over in front of him with tears streaming down my face gasping for air. I fell to my knees and threw my head back as my cackles filled the air. It was the most hilarious thing I had ever heard. Somehow the guys had ended up at a gay bar and a transvestite hit on Emmett! It was priceless! No wonder it annoyed Seth that he wasn't the one to get to tell me. This was just the sort of thing he loved to share with me just to hear my laughter. When I finally sobered up and the tears blurring my vision dried, I looked up to see Seth propped up against the doorway to the kitchen with his arms crossed and ankles crossed with a big smile on his face. I should have known that the opportunity to see my reaction to this new and hilarious information would be too good for him to miss.

Emmett looked so completely mortified, "It's not funny! It was the most horrifying experience of my life. I swear if I could sleep I would be having nightmares every night about it!" He pouted from his place on the couch with his arms crossed over his broad chest and Rosalie moved over to sit next to him looking up at him through her lashes and rubbing his arm comfortingly.

"It's okay baby. You know you're hot, now you know that EVERYBODY agrees!" She chuckled a little, but was pleased to see him relax a bit at her words even if they were poking a little bit more fun at him.

We all sat and joked about the situation a bit longer and finally the story was retold with even more detail and we all laughed at the story again. After we had thoroughly evaluated the situation I sunk down on the couch next to Emmett where Rosalie had been comforting him earlier and rested my head on his big muscled marble like arm and looked up at him through my eyelashes doing my best 'will you forgive your innocent looking sister' face.

"Em, I'm sorry about snapping at you before. I don't know why you did all of this secretive crap though. We love you even if you are a tranny magnet. Do you think you'll ever be able to forgive me brother bear?"

Okay, so I broke out the nickname I used to call Emmett during my tomboy tree climbing years again to soften his heart a bit. I had strategically used it during the argument in order to get him to cave and now I was using it again to get him to mellow. I saw him look toward me out of the corner of his eye, but his stone mask did not shift.

"Oh come on Emmett, after all of the years that you've relentlessly teased each and every one of us for the slightest little ridiculous things, you can't give us this one thing without going all pouty on us?"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before slowly turning toward me with his lips still pulled into a thin line, but I could see the corners were starting to curve up a little.

"You've been teasing me about my non-existent sex life for over a year now and I don't say much at all. The very least you can do is let me laugh at the visual of a sequin clad man in a wig trying to get you to rock his world, right?"

I was speaking in Emmett's language now and pulling out every weapon in my arsenal in an attempt to calm the stormy waters and it seemed to be working. I could feel the vibrations of his chuckle on my face that was still leaning against his arm before I heard them and he turned his once more sparkling eyes down at me with a big goofy grin.

He unfolded his arms as I lifted my face to smile up at him and he wrapped the arm I had just been resting on around my shoulder giving me a fairly gentle hug…well gentle for Emmett anyway.

"Ah, get out of here squirt," he said ruffling my hair before letting me go again so I could stand. "You know, you're probably the only one in the world that could ever make me crack."

I smiled widely at him, "I love you too brother bear." I walked back to the TV and flipped it back on before I went home to call Leah and Sue.

I thought for sure that their boys would have spilled the beans once they got away from here, but I guess the threat of Emmett surpassed the distance of several thousand miles even because they hadn't let on a thing. Sue and Leah both laughed nearly as hard as I had and vowed to tease their guys relentlessly for not sharing sooner. I felt sort of bad for poor Danny. Between the fishing incident, being the one to pick the ill fated watering hole, and then nearly being picked up at the bar on top of it all he must have really felt ridiculous. He was just trying to cheer everyone up poor guy…who would have ever thought it would end so disastrously! I found myself laughing hysterically with my future sister and mom and I was pretty sure I heard Seth chuckle from his office upstairs. When my phone call was done I went upstairs and gave Seth a hug and aplogized for giving him such a hard time over the past week about the secret. I was glad that everything was out in the open now. I really hated having secrets from Seth and I promised myself that unless it was absolutely necessary for his personal safety, I would never keep a secret from him if I could at all help it.

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Author's Note: Please Review and let me know what you think! My last chapter only got three reviews so it's got me a little worried that maybe I'm starting to bore you guys or something. If that's the case then you need to review so I know that I need to step things up a bit, and if you're still enjoying it then it's always nice to hear that too!

_**Featured Author: Flamanipulator! Flame has been following my stories for quite some time and is pretty reliable with the sharing of the love. He has an out of this world imagination. His stories blow my mind half the time. He has eight…count them EIGHT twilight fanfics, so to write about each one would take a whole page on word by itself so I'll write about one story in particular…The Universe Cries Out, take OC's born of a vampire Claire and a werewolf Quil add time/space travel and you have TUCO. I tell you this girls imagination is amazing…so if you have the time then please check him out! (So I have to apologize to Flame for assuming he was a she. I guess it proves what they say about when you assume. So sorry Flame, but it's been nice getting to know you through email chats!)**_

_**Love you all and thanks for reading!**_


	20. Oh So Sweet Eighteen

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of it's original characters. They all belong to the lovely Stephenie Meyer. I also do not own any rights to the movies The Notebook or Queen of the Damned._**

**_Author's Note: Okay, this is a very long chapter that will hopefully more than make up for the very short last chapter. A lot of you have been anxiously awaiting this chapter and now it's here. I hope you enjoy it. The poll was pretty much split 50/50, but as I hinted at before, I pretty much knew I was going to do this from the beginning and I hope this makes everyone else as happy as it does me :) I will also be posting a Seth POV if you're interested._**

**_There is a link on my profile page for pictures of some of the items discussed in this chapter and also a link to a forum I created for these stories…if you're interested go post and if I get enough interest in discussing the story and things of that sort then I'll keep it up and if not I'll pull it back down. Just something new to try._**

**_Thank you to my Beta, Mel, for taking the time to read this monster and help me smooth out the rough spots! Love ya sweetie!_**

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20. Oh So Sweet Eighteen

After New Year's and the resolution of the big boy mystery time started flying by in a flash. The spring semester of my senior year consisted of my high school level classes in the morning and a new semester of community college courses in the afternoon. This semester my college courses consisted of English 101, Early American History, and Intro to Computer Sciences. There was definitely a method to my madness. English was second nature and was almost a blow off course for me even at the community college level, American History was a cinch with my family around, particularly Jasper who experienced much of the biggest conflicts first hand with his Civil War experiences, and Computer Sciences was of course Seth's specialty. I'm not sure if it was because they finally provided me a challenge or if it just felt as though I was working toward something more important but I found my college classes very fulfilling.

In addition to school going well, Sarina was growing so beautifully. Everyone was so relieved when after being born, our sweet little baby girl continued to develop like a normal infant meeting each and every one of her developmental milestones right on schedule. She was now four months old and so incredibly precious. Her sweet little eyes would sparkle and she would get a big wide toothless smile every time I walked into a room and would lean toward me indicating that she wanted me to hold her. Oh how I loved that little girl! She was my precious sweet little angel child and she made me so happy.

Jake and Nessie were settling into parenthood quite well. They were so adorable and so in love with their precious baby girl as well. Well, we all were, but of course it was even more so with them since she was their very own. They also benefited greatly by living so close to the rest of the family and often took advantage of the ten readily available and willing babysitters at their disposal 24/7. Sarina had no problem being left with any of the numerous family members who adored and spoiled her now, but inevitably at some point before Nessie and Jake returned to claim her, she would begin to miss them and get fussy unless she was with me, and when those times came I would be called in to save the day. We never did really figure out the exact reason why that was, but we didn't question it either. I think in the end everyone stacked it up to my ability.

Wedding planning had gotten much more bearable once I laid everything out on the line with Alice in regard to my wishes and she now understood that I wanted the wedding to be about me and Seth and who we were and she backed off a lot. Between my well developed mental picture of what I wanted and her superior organizational skills we had almost everything that could possibly be prearranged set up by early April. Instead of the massive party we had on the fourth of July last year, we were going to have a wedding extravaganza in the meadow behind the family estate instead. The closer we got to that day, the more excited I became. I really couldn't wait to marry Seth in front of my friends and family and quite a few of the pack members and their families were even coming all the way from Washington to join us in the festivities.

Today was a new day though…a special day that I had been looking forward to for nearly a year and a half…

My eyes fluttered open to the bright sun of the mid morning sky. Today I turned eighteen and the last pieces of my life were finally going to fall into place. Today marked the beginning of my future; the beginning of a full life with Seth without having to continually rein in our desires for one another within the confines of what was legally acceptable…from now on it was utterly and completely up to us and our own individual choices and I so hoped that his desires and my desires were aligned.

I sat up and looked around slightly sad to see that I was alone in the king size bed that I shared with Seth. I had fallen asleep in his arms that night with orders to sleep in as late as I wanted and to go find Alice after I was awake, full of breakfast, and showered and then she would help me prepare for the surprises of the day.

I looked to my bedside table to find a tray with a plate of toast covered in butter and strawberry preserves, a bowl of cut fruit, a glass of juice, and a bud vase with a single sterling rose waiting for me. I smiled as I pulled the tray onto my lap and took a big bite of the closest piece of toast. I noticed that a little folded white note was sitting next to the bud vase, my name written on the outside. I opened it with a smile as I read the words written inside.

_My darling Angel, I have gone to get things ready for your birthday surprises this evening. Please enjoy your morning, relax, take your time getting ready and then go see Alice and please don't argue with anything she asks you to do. She's under strict orders from me, so please just go along and don't spoil the surprise. I love you more than life itself. Happy 18__th__ Birthday, my love! I'll see you soon! -Love Always, Seth_

I reread the note a few more times as I finished my breakfast in bed and then got up leaving the tray on the bed as I moved the bud vase to my bedside table and took the note to my dresser pulling out my keepsake box that I kept tucked in the bottom drawer and after placing a small kiss on the outside by my name, I tucked the note safely inside and closed the drawer.

I went back to the bed and grabbed the tray taking it down to the kitchen and sat it on the counter. I walked to the sink to run some water to quickly do the dishes and laughed as I saw the note sitting on the counter in front of the sink. _Don't even think about it! Birthday girls don't do dishes. Leave them on the counter and your birthday fairies will take care of it later._

I shook my head with a chuckle, but knowing I would be in far more trouble if I ignored the message, I obediently left the dirty dishes on the counter and walked back up the stairs to our bathroom and opted to draw myself a nice hot bath in the infrequently used sunken Jacuzzi tub as a special treat to myself. I dropped in a couple of capfuls of my favorite vanilla jasmine body wash to create some bubbles and turned to light some candles and bring in my little stereo to enjoy some relaxing music as I soaked. I slipped out of my clothes and slowly slid into the warm tub with a small groan of satisfaction as I pressed the button on the side of the tub to start the water jets. I leaned back against the tub pillow that Seth had bought for me earlier in the week and closed my eyes, relishing the peace and quiet and daydreaming about the things I hoped would happen later in the day.

I stayed in the tub until the water started to turn tepid. I hated to leave the relaxing oasis, but I knew that if I didn't get in gear soon, my impatient pixie sister would show up and drag me to the main house to get ready anyway. Knowing I was in for a full wardrobe change once I got there, I opted to slip into my comfy new purple sweats and matching zip up hoodie and walked over to the main house.

I walked in the back door and had to fight to suppress a moan as I took in the vision of the dining room draped in pink and cream streamers and big pink banner with glittering letters that read "Happy 18th Birthday Lina!" The table was already set with a pink tablecloth and place settings for three people to dine on my mother's best china and crystal. I couldn't help but smile…they always tried so hard to make my birthday special, but what they never understood was that I didn't need all of this to have a good birthday, I just needed them. The smile faded and a small tear formed in the corner of my eye as the realization hit that this was one of the last birthdays that I would get to celebrate with them because in a year or two Seth and I will be living near wherever I chose to attend college and then after that we would set down permanent roots and my family would not be able to stay with us then. Suddenly the over the top decorations of the dinning room didn't seem so ostentatious.

I blinked back the tear as I heard the voice of my mother call from the kitchen just before she walked in to give me a big hug and wish me a happy birthday with a kiss on the cheek. I told her how beautiful everything looked and thanked her and the smile on her face was glorious and stretched all the way up to twinkle in her golden eyes. A few seconds later the rest of the family filtered in each giving me hugs and kisses and wishing me a happy birthday. Of course this only lasted a few seconds before Alice materialized before my eyes grabbing my hand and dragging me toward the staircase as I cast a look of apology over my shoulder toward the rest of the family before following her up to her bathroom.

Once upstairs I was seated on a chair in the middle of Alice's bathroom as she chattered away while curling and pinning my hair up off of my neck. Still thinking about the fact that I only had a limited number of times that I would get to enjoy this special, even if slightly physically uncomfortable, time with my sister. I settled back and did my best to absorb and appreciate all the things my tiny sister has done and continued to do for me. After a while she topped talking giving me a confused look as she realized I wasn't doing my normal whining and complaining and I shrugged and smiled. She gazed at me a second more before a glorious smile lit her tiny features and she went back to dancing around me as she pulled and tucked my hair into place at the apex of my head.

I was suddenly silently admonishing myself for all of my years of bellyaching and whining about things like this when my simply accepting them with grace and appreciation gave my family members so much joy. Why had I been so selfish and self absorbed all of these years? Why had I never appreciated them more? I made a birthday resolution right at that moment to be more appreciative for whatever small amount of time I had left with them.

Alice finished piling my hair onto my head in beautiful ringlets so that my neck was completely exposed and appeared long and soft in the mirror before me. She left a few soft tendrils to fall along the back and sides that made the skin there appear even paler against the brown tendrils that lay against it. She had also done my make up in a light natural palate that left me looking fresh and bright, but not overly done up. She explained that she was going to allow me to spend the rest of the day in my sweats and then we would come back up to refresh my make up and change clothes before it was time to leave to meet Seth. I smiled and thanked her for the makeover and she looked pleasantly surprised.

We walked back down together laughing and as we cleared the landing to look down into the living room I heard a tiny squeal and looked down to see Sarina situated in her baby activity center in the room below looking up at me with her brown eyes twinkling and her beautiful toothless smile beaming up at me. I ran down the last set of stairs taking them two at a time and rushed to pull her up from her seat and hugged her close.

"Hello there my beautiful girl! How are you today?" I cooed at her as I placed kisses on her full little cheeks.

She cooed at me and gurgled as she reached her tiny baby hand out and grasped at one of the tendrils that hung in front of my ear.

"Do you like my hair? Auntie Alice made Auntie Lina's hair look pretty didn't she?"

She continued to coo and smile before burying her head into my shoulder giving me a baby hug. I smiled and held her close feeling her love for me radiate through my body.

"I love you too, precious!" I looked down at her noticing that she had on the most adorable little dress. It was short sleeved with a red velvet bodice with little red and white roses at the bottom where the material transitioned and flared into a white skirt with little red roses embroidered on the organza overlay.

"You look so pretty Sarina. Did Mommy dress you up for Aunt Lina's birthday?" She looked down at my fingers that were playing with the decorative roses at the bottom of her bodice before looking up at me squealing as she grabbed my fingers pulling them toward her mouth.

I laughed a little, "Oh no you don't sweet stuff…Lord only knows what's in that lotion that Alice made me use on my hands, there's no way I'm letting that stuff get in your mouth." She frowned at me a second when I pulled my fingers away before returning her attention to the stray tendrils hanging down around my face.

I walked into the kitchen with Sarina perched on my hip feeling her tug occasionally at various tendrils of hair within her reach. Nessie and Jake were seated at the counter and they both turned and came over to me giving me a big hug and wishing me a happy birthday before Nessie took Sarina from my arms. Sarina protested and leaned back toward me as I reached forward and kissed the top of her head.

"Can you please stay with Mommy a little while baby girl? Auntie Lina wants to go call Uncle Seth."

She grunted before focusing her attention on one of her mother's bronze ringlets as Nessie smiled at me over her daughter's head. "Can't wait for this evening huh?"

"Please, like you wouldn't be dying to call Jake if it were you?"

"Touché," she replied with a chuckle. I laughed along with her before turning to walk out on the front porch to call.

"Don't stay on too long dear," my mother called behind me. "Lunch is nearly finished."

"Okay Mom," I answered back as I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and opened the front door and stepping onto the wrap around porch and taking a seat on the porch swing before hitting send. It was a rarity to have a beautiful sunny day on my birthday since we typically lived in dreary downcast parts of the country, but the day today was beautiful as the sun shined comfortably down from the clear blue sky. There was a light spring breeze that brushed across my face bringing the fragrance of the first blossoming spring flowers and the sound of the birds chirping in the woods to me. I took a deep breath and sighed with a contented smile on my face. There was only one more thing that would make this day absolutely perfect.

He finally answered on the third ring bringing my world into perfect contented harmony. "Happy Birthday my beautiful Angel! How's your birthday so far?"

"Hey…I missed you this morning," I said with a pout.

"I know sweetheart, but I need all day to get everything set up for tonight. Trust me, I'm ninety-nine percent sure you'll think it was worth it come tonight."

"Ooookay…I'll trust you. Sorry to bother you, I just needed to hear your voice."

"You are never a bother and I needed to hear your voice too. Did you relax and enjoy this morning like I asked you to?"

"Yes, I ate the great breakfast you left, took a nice long hot relaxing bath in the Jacuzzi tub, and then came over and Alice just finished my hair and makeup a little bit ago and I was just informed lunch is almost ready."

"Sounds like a good start to me. I need to go finish everything up, but know that I miss you and I love you Angel. Have fun with your family for now and I'll see you later."

"Alright, I love you."

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

I hit the end button and stood up to make my way back into the house. I had noticed the faint smell of tomatoes and garlic when I had come in, but now the smell was quite strong and permeated the house causing my mouth to water in anticipation. I walked into the kitchen to see the steaming lasagna that had just been pulled out of the oven bubbling as it sat on a trivet on the countertop.

"Wow Mom, that smells amazing!" My mother beamed at me from the other side of the counter.

"Okay, you all go get settled in the dining room. I'll bring the rest of the food in shortly."

I stepped around the counter and hugged my mother around the shoulders placing a kiss on her cool marble cheek. "Thank you, for everything."

"You're very welcome my darling," she responded as she patted my arm with her small cool hand.

I led the way as Jake, Ness, and Sarina followed me into the dining room where the rest of the family had already assembled around the large dining room table. We took our seats in front of the place settings, I was of course told to sit at the head of the table, and Nessie strapped Sarina into the high chair situated between she and I just off the corner of the table. Sarina squealed and tapped her rattle on the tray as she looked at the decorations in the room large eyes and a wide grin.

Jake and I devoured the food on the table while Nessie, who after giving birth to Sarina once again found most human food less appealing, picked at the things on her plate taking a few small bites out of courtesy. In addition to the lasagna there was salad, garlic bread, and mixed veggies. The meal was one of the best I've ever head and I made sure my mother was aware of the fact.

After we had our fill of the food Bella brought the cake in from the kitchen and I laughed when she sat in front of me. It was a large sheet cake with color frosting as a base and they had edible pictures transferred onto the top. One was of me at four years old covered in white Halloween makeup with a big goofy grin on my face and then next to it was a close up of me on prom night with my hair and makeup in perfect harmony and above it was written the words, "You've come along way baby…and you grew up beautifully. Happy 18th Birthday, Lina!"

I looked up to see the devious smiles and smirks on all of the faces in the room and my face was beginning to hurt from the wide smile that had taken over my face. "Thanks guys…this is great!"

Jake leaned forward and lit the candles as they all sang the happy birthday song and I looked down at the cake and around the room with a hint of sadness as once again I thought of the fact that this might be one of the last times I experience a day like this with them on my birthday. Just as I thought of this I saw both Jasper and Edward's brows furrow for an instant and then go smooth again. I smiled and closed my eyes to make a wish and then blew out the candles as everyone cheered. We immediately cut the cake, being careful to only cut pieces where there were no words or pictures so I could show Seth later.

After we finished eating, the table was cleared and a pile of presents materialized in front of me on the table. I let out little chuckle before reaching forward for the first gift. I sat the gift on Sarina's tray and let her attempt to help me open the gift by letting her little baby hands slap the paper repeatedly. I laughed again and pulled the bow off the top of the present and put it on her head as everyone laughed and cameras flashed trying to catch the moment.

I peeled the last of the paper away making note that this first gift was from my Mom and Sue. I opened the box and saw inside a large photo album. I slowly opened the cover and looked to find the first page held baby pictures of two newborns…one pale with light hair and light eyes wearing a frilly pink dress, the other tan with dark hair and dark eyes wearing a little blue suit. Under the pale baby was a picture of her nestled in the arms of her beaming parents and under the boy was a picture of the boy on his mother's lap with an older girl sitting next to them and his father standing behind them. I blinked a few times as the realization hit, my mom and Sue had gathered baby pictures of Seth and me and put them in an album to symbolize that the two of us had belonged together from the beginning.

Tears filled my eyes and rolled down my face as I turned the pages, each filled with matching pictures of the two of us at various stages throughout our childhood. I turned one more page to find a shot of Seth draped across a bean bag chair with his head dropping off the back sound asleep and next to it a picture of me draped across the arm of the couch with my head hanging limply off the side in a matching pose. I laughed at the sight of our similarities and they continued with each consecutive page. Several pages later the pictures began to have the two of us together from holidays and dances. In each one we looked so happy and in love and it made me smile. There were many blank pages behind the last one that they had filled and I looked up at my mother in appreciation.

"The rest are for you to fill up throughout your lives together. There will be many more years full of memories to fill it with."

The tears were still rolling and my voice broke as I tried to thank her. She smiled and nodded.

I gently sat the precious book aside with care before picking up the next box from the pile. The next gift had a note stating it was from my parents. I pulled away the pretty bow and shiny silver wrapping paper to reveal an antique looking rectangular velvety covered hinged box. My eyes shifted up to them and they both wore matching radiant smiles as they both nodded for me to open it. I had a feeling I knew what was inside, so with shaking hands I slowly opened the lid to reveal the necklace and earrings my mother had worn when she and my father were married. Tears once again for the millionth time that day filled my eyes as I looked down as the brilliant blue sapphire and diamond necklace with the large pear shaped stone hanging from it's apex and it's matching sapphire earrings sparkled up at me from the box that had housed them so carefully for nearly one hundred years.

"Oh Mom, Dad, I can't. They're too precious, I can't possibly accept these."

My father walked over and placed a cool hand lovingly on my cheek. "Of course you can my dear. Your Mother and I hoped that you would consider wearing them in your wedding. Consider them your something old and something blue."

The tears continued to fall and my chest felt tight as I struggled with the impulse to return the priceless treasure that I did not deserve knowing it would hurt their feelings far more if I did not accept. I stood up and threw my arms around my father's neck and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you Daddy and I would be honored." I walked over to my mother and hugged her kissing her cheek as well as she smiled at me and ran her hand across my cheek to wipe away a tear.

"The honor is ours my darling. We love you so much and we're happy to be able pass it on to you and I hope that one day you might pass it on to your children."

"I promise I will." She smiled at me and nodded.

At this point I felt so emotionally overwhelmed that I didn't know if I could handle opening the rest of the presents before me. Each and every gift was so wonderfully thoughtful and kind.

Edward gave me a beautiful pair of dangling silver and pearl earrings that had belonged to his mother, Elizabeth. He insisted on putting them on me during the party so I could wear them the rest of the evening. Once they were on he tipped my face up to look at him and sighed saying, "Absolutely beautiful. I can't imagine them looking nicer on anyone else in the world." I smiled and gave him a hug to thank him.

Bella gave me a thick silver hinged bangle bracelet with two blue sapphire hearts, obviously the word had gotten out that blue sapphire was my favorite. Under one of the hearts my name was engraved in a beautiful script and her name was engraved under the other. Around the outside of the rest of the band there was an inscription. _No matter where, no matter how, we will always be forever sisters._ I slowly lifted the beautiful bracelet from the box and asked her to help me put it on. She opened it and slid it over my wrist securing it in place before smiling and giving me a hug as I thanked her for the beautiful bracelet.

Jake and Nessie gave me a charm bracelet, which Nessie secured on my other arm. Once it was in place I spun it on my wrist looking at the delicate charms that hung there realizing that there was one to represent each of my beloved family members. There was a tiny wooden wolf like the one on Bella and Nessie's bracelets carved by Jake, a mother and child facing one another forming a heart shape represented Nessie and Sarina, there was a shopping bag for Alice, a cannon for Jasper, a convertible car for Rosalie, a larger bear standing next to a smaller for Emmett, a piano for Edward, a book for Bella, a flower for my mother, a stethoscope for my father, a heart with a cupid's arrow for Seth and finally from the middle of all of the charms was a large silver heart with my name in a beautiful script.

"Oh Ness, Jake, I love it. Thank you!" They both said they were glad I liked it as I gave them their hugs of appreciation.

I was a little nervous to open Rose and Emmett's gift. You really never know with those two what to expect. I was more than a little shocked when I opened the paper and the box to find a beautiful ornate wooden jewelry box. It was large with multiple drawers and compartments and had a lock so that valuable items not unlike the ones I had received today could be stored and kept secure.

Emmett smiled looking very proud, "We thought since everyone else is giving you jewelry, we'd give you something to keep it all in. Open it up."

I gently turned the key and lifted the lid of the beautiful cherry wood grain chest and pulled open the tall side compartments designed to hold necklaces that hinged out from sides of the row of drawers that opened along the center. I peered down into the red velvet lined interior to find a small package wrapped inside.

"That one would be the part from me," Rosalie smiled over at me.

I reached in and pulled it out removing the paper to find yet another long narrow hinged box. I tipped it open to reveal a beautiful hair comb made of sterling silver with silver leaves pointing in different directions from the stem with crystal flowers and pearls decorating across the stem in clusters.

"It's Swarovski crystal and real pearls. I thought it would look nice in your hair tonight and would match Edward's earrings."

"Thank you Rose, it's gorgeous," I said bestowing her with a thank you hug before turning to Emmett. "And thank you for the thoughtful jewelry box Em, you were right, it's exactly what I need after today. Good job Brother Bear!" He laughed and pulled me off my feet into a nearly crushing Emmett hug. He finally let go when Edward reminded him I had to breathe and he sat me down with a wide goofy grin still plastered to his face.

Jasper's gift had to be brought in from another room because it was rather large. First a long wide box was placed on the table before me then another larger box was placed at the floor at my feet. I was informed that the two presents went together but I was to open the long one first. I peeled back the paper and opened the box to find a large black guitar case and inside was a beautiful blue and white electric guitar. I looked up at Jasper with wide excited eyes. I had always wanted to learn to play and he always promised some day he would teach me, but it just never seemed to happen.

"The other one is the amp to go with it. I figure that this summer you might enjoy a break from the wedding stuff every now and then and I could teach you."

I jumped up from my seat giving yet another family member an enthusiastic hug. "Thank you so much Jasper. That would be wonderful. I'm dying to learn how to shred!" We both laughed knowing it would take years to learn to really play that well, but it was fun to pretend.

Alice was last and probably the most excited. She made a big production of bringing in the two boxes she had carefully wrapped in beautiful shiny paper. I opened the smaller square box first and I nearly hissed at the sight before me as I took in a deep breath. There in the box sat the most beautiful tiara I had ever seen. I gently pulled it out and examined the intricate curls and clear gemstone flowers and strategically placed large pear shaped stones that adorned the sparkling crown. "Oh Alice, it's so beautiful." I said in slightly more than a whisper before looking over at her. "This is absolutely perfect. Thank you."

"You're welcome…now open the other one before I burst!"

I pulled the other longer box which was feather light toward be and opened the paper slowly that matched the paper that had covered the box with the tiara. I pulled off the lid of the nondescript white box to find a beautiful cascade of white tulle and lace with a beautiful design embroidered along its edges. I pulled the fluffy white cascade out of the box to find that it was a beautiful and ornately designed veil.

Alice took it from my hand and slid the comb that secured the veil into my hair as it cascaded down my back with the bottom dangling at my waist. Then she took the tiara from its box and placed it on my head as well. She opened the box with my mother's necklace and earrings and after removing Edward's earrings and my locket from Seth that was always around my neck, she placed the necklace on my chest securing it behind my neck and placed the matching earrings in my ears before taking my hand and leading me to the ornate framed mirror that hung on the far side of the dining room. I looked in the mirror and gasped at the sight and tears for the billionth time today blurred my vision. It was perfect; every single piece fit together and formed the perfect look for my wedding.

I turned to look at my family and they were all staring at me with strained and saddened looks in their eyes. It was then that I realized that they were just as aware as I was that this was one of the last times we would be like this because soon I was going to be someone's wife with a new name and not too long after that I would have a whole new life apart from them. Feeling the weight of the room threatening to bring me to tears once more I opted instead to lighten the mood. I turned to look in the mirror again lifting my arms so that both bracelets were in view before turning back still holding them up with a smile.

"So what…no bellybutton or nose rings to match the whole jewelry theme? Oh I know…how about one of those cool chain things to connect an earring to a nose ring." I remarked sarcastically with my crooked grin. A low chuckle reverberated around the room as smiles slowly replaced the sad looks on all of their faces and I smiled wider knowing I had accomplished my task.

"Seriously though guys, this is amazing. Thank you all so, so much! The fact that you put so much thought into your gifts and giving me such precious heirlooms, it means so much more than you can know. I love you guys!"

I once again was passed around the room to get hugs and we sat and visited a little while longer before Alice took my wedding jewelry and hair pieces off of me, replacing the earrings from Edward and my locket from Seth and taking the comb from Rosalie out of the jewelry box before leading me back upstairs to her bathroom.

I sat for another much shorter round of Angelina Barbie as she freshened up my make up, made a few last minute fixes to my hair before securing the comb from Rosalie along the front of the pile of curls atop my head. Afterward she led me into her bedroom where a cute little dress was laid out on the bed for me. The dress was a little bit retro and completely adorable. It was a silvery colored knee length sleeveless dress with a cute high collar that wrapped around my neck. It wasn't overly ostentatious, it was conservative, and it was totally and completely me. Of course to make up for the conservative dress that made me happy, I was forced into a pair of silver sling back Manolo Blahnik heels, but in the spirit of my resolution to be more appreciative of the love of my family, I didn't complain. Also under the dress I was finally convinced after a bit of argument to wear a little white silky sexy halter style slip with a lacy design along the neckline, which Alice claimed would make the dress fall more smoothly on my skin and not ride up. After a short discussion, she finally convinced me and I had to admit, the satin material was much more comfortable than the slightly stiff material of the dress.

I looked in the mirror with a wide smile so pleased at the overall effect of the dress, shoes, and jewelry. I was so excited to see Seth! I turned to Alice and gave her an enthusiastic hug.

"Thank you so much Ali! This is perfect. Thank you for always taking care of me and helping me look right for these types of things. I know I don't really show you the proper appreciation, but I really do appreciate it."

"I know you do sweetie! Now let's get you downstairs so everyone can make over you before you go to meet Seth." She glanced over at the clock on the night stand that said it was two forty-five in the afternoon.

"Go meet Seth? Isn't he picking me up?"

"Not exactly…you'll see soon enough. Now let's go!"

Alice led the way making me stop at the top of the stairs just like she had done before my first homecoming dance last year to announce my entrance. I giggled behind her as she made her flowery speech and then beckoned me to step forward. Just like before every major event of my life so far, my family gazed on me like a priceless piece of art. I smiled and shook my head as I finished descending the stairs and collected my hugs and compliments before a knock at the door drew our attention. Edward stepped over and opened the door to reveal a man in a suit with a chauffer hat on his head.

"I am here to escort Miss Angelina Cullen," the man announced from the doorway. I looked over at Alice who smiled.

"Just a moment please," Edward replied before turning to me with a smile. I stepped to the doorway and looked out to find a black limousine waiting to whisk me away. I turned and wished my family goodbye as the driver offered his arm to escort me to the car. It was a good thing too because I stumbled once, still unaccustomed to the designer heels, on my way out to the car before the driver caught me and righted me again. I heard a mumbled comment about me being Bella's sister, which I was pretty sure was from Emmett followed by a few chuckles.

When we reached the long car the driver left me to open the door and I turned back to take one last peek at my family all watching from the porch. I smiled and waved and they all waved back. I carefully slid into the large seat and the driver closed the door leaving me all alone in the large, dark space of the rear of the car.

I heard a car door open and close and then the black window that separated the driver's space from the private rear space opened.

"Are you ready to go miss?"

"I'm ready when you are. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Ruben ma'am."

"Oh please, call me Lina."

"As you wish Miss Lina."

I giggled and I could see him smile as he put the car in gear and proceeded to pull forward.

"Ruben?"

"Yes Miss Lina?"

"Where are we going?"

He smiled again and shook his head, "I'm sorry Miss, I'm not allowed to tell you that. I do believe that if you look on top of the bar there you will find a note from Mr. Clearwater giving you what few details you are allowed to know at this point."

"Oh, thank you Ruben."

"No problem Miss. I'll be closing the window now unless you prefer it open."

"Okay Ruben, is there a way for me to open it back up later if I wish?'

"Yes Miss, there's a button on the console by the bar."

"Thank you Ruben."

He nodded in acknowledgement as the black window slowly rose back up sealing me off in dark quiet once more. I looked around smiling as I leaned forward to inspect the bar. Just as Ruben said, there was a large pink envelope with my name written on the outside in Seth's handwriting.

_Dearest Angel, I hope you enjoy your ride. Get comfortable, it's going to take a little while…and by a little while I mean you have plenty of time to watch some of the many movies in the entertainment drawer on the left side of the bar. I filled it with your favorites. Also there are a few delicacies for you to indulge in for your drive located in the refrigerator under the bar section. Enjoy the trip and please relax and take full advantage of the amenities of this limo. I love you and I'll see you in about the time it will take you to watch two movies. That's the last hint you get. I can't wait for you to get here. All my Love, Seth_

I smiled as I reread the note a few times before tucking it into the little silver handbag Alice had handed me before I walked out the door so I could tuck it in my keepsake box later. I leaned forward and began rummaging through the compartments surrounding the bar area. I squealed when I opened the fridge under the bar to reveal a container of chocolate covered strawberries, a small single serving bottle of my favorite asti wine, and a container of watermelon…all my favorites to indulge in on my journey.

I opened the compartment to the left of the fridge to investigate my movie choices. I glanced through the selection a few times before narrowing my choices between The Notebook, Queen of the Damned (come on like it wouldn't be one of my favorites considering my family and Stuart Townsend was really hot in that movie), and the 2006 version of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly. I drummed my fingers on the cases unable to decide and finally decided to start with Queen of the Damned. I located the DVD player in the control console and hit the button the power it up causing a rather large LCD screen to slowly descend from the ceiling. I slid the disc into the player and hit the button so that it would slide in and as I waited for the player to process the request I pulled out my cell phone to call Seth again.

I smiled when a very excited sounding Seth picked up on the second ring. "Well, what do you think of the Limo? Have you found all of the surprises yet?"

"Yes and oh my gosh…it's amazing sweetheart!"

"So what movie did you choose?"

"I'm starting with Queen of the Damned and then it's a toss up for my second movie between The Notebook or Pride and Prejudice."

I could hear him chuckling on the other end of the line. "I don't know why I even bothered having any of the rest of them there, I knew you were going to choose from those three, although I wondered if Serenity might have ended up in the mix too."

I smiled and sighed, "Yes, you know me well my dear, and if I weren't in such a sappy romantic mood it probably would have."

He laughed again. "Oh, I can't wait for you to get here!"

"So where is 'here' anyway?"

"Un uh…not going to tell. It's all a big surprise and you'll find out soon enough. For now you just sit back, enjoy your treats while you watch your movies and enjoy the ride. You should be here right around seven." I looked at the clock in the control panel, which read three fifteen. Geez…nearly four more hours…not far enough for New York, but still pretty far.

"Okay sweetheart, my movie's starting and I'm dying to get my hands on those strawberries. I'll see you in a little less than four hours then. I love you."

"Love you too Angel. Have fun!"

I hit end on the phone and sent a quick text to Alice, Bella, Rose, and Nessie telling them about how amazing everything is so far after only being gone fifteen minutes. They all texted back jokes about how easy I was to please and the best was yet to come and I laughed as I settled in to watch Lestat fall in love with Jesse as she longs to be part of his world and stay with him forever. I loved it because it reminded me so much of a much darker version of Edward and Bella, but at the same time Jesse reminded me of myself as well. In the movie she has memories of being with her vampire family but not being a part of them, even though she longed to be, belonging and yet not belonging at the same time…and just like me they took her and kept her safe when her parents died. Fortunately for me, my family kept me with them and cared for me personally throughout my childhood and formative years where hers did not, but still the general idea was still there.

I settled in with my strawberries and poured myself the single serving of wine in the champagne flute situated in the bar area and ate them with grateful moans of satisfaction as I watched the movie bobbing along with the rock and roll music. I always loved the music in the movie too finding it beautiful and haunting.

When the first movie was done I took a moment to look out at the scenery. I could see the sun lowering behind me toward the horizon and knew that we were headed due east. There wasn't much due east, a few cities to choose from and…the Atlantic Ocean. A smile spread across my face as puzzle pieces began to connect in my mind…I didn't know where exactly I was going, but I was pretty sure that there would be some sort of beach involved. I took a deep breath and sighed before turning back to narrowing down my choices for my second movie and smiling as I picked up The Notebook and placed it in the player pushing play.

The second movie was just ending as the green glowing clock on the console flipped over to seven o'clock. I smiled and looked back out to see we were driving along a small winding road that curved back and forth along the coast. Several minutes later we pulled in front of a large house situated on the beach.

As soon as we were at a complete stop the door closest to the house opened and Seth leaned down smiling in at me. I smiled back and took the hand he offered being sure to grab my purse as I slid out of the seat to stand in front of him. He looked so incredibly handsome as he stood there before me in a black double-breasted suit with a white button down shirt and a silver tie that I was quite sure Alice provided so we would match. With the heels on I was only about four inches shorter than Seth rather than the seven inches that normally separated our height, which made it much easier to slide my hands into his hair and reach his lips with my own. We stood for several minutes saying hello before we pulled away to catch our breath.

"Wow Angel, you look incredible," Seth exclaimed in excitement.

I blushed slightly with a little smile. "Thank you."

He took my hand and carefully led me toward the front door, "Come on, I want you to see this place. It's ours for the whole weekend."

We stepped inside the beautifully decorated home with beautiful dark woods filling the whole house with ornate decorations carved into the molding and baseboards. Despite the dark woods the house still felt warm and inviting. He took me on a brief tour of the ground floor before leading me to large French doors that opened onto a large deck with a screened in gazebo area just outside the French doors and then another door on the far side of the gazebo led to the open decking that had stairs descending to the beach. I smiled as I saw that in the gazebo there was a table set for a candlelight dinner for two.

The ocean rumbled in the distance as the dim light of the setting sun barely illuminated the distant surf with a light pink glow. The candles on the table flickered gently with the cool ocean breeze. Seth came beside me and pulled out my chair for me pushing me up to the table as I sat. Then he crossed over to his side of the table taking a moment to pull the silver dome over the plates waiting in the middle of the table. He placed once plate filled with adorable heart shaped ravioli and asparagus spears in front of me and the other in front of himself before settling into his seat. We sat and talked as he asked about my morning and my party and I told him about the amazing presents my siblings and parents had given me and showed off the earrings, hair comb, and bracelets that I still wore.

After we finished eating, Seth pulled his chair around to sit next to me placing his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close. We fell into a comfortable silence as I closed my eyes and took in my surroundings listening to the slow cadence of the waves on the shore and inhaling deeply the scent of the salt water mixed with the presence of Seth's always intoxicating essence. I cuddled closer into his side nuzzling my nose into his warm enticing neck and placing gentle kisses there as my breathing steadily grew more ragged as I began to think about the barriers we no longer faced and the fact that the only thing between us and our final act of love is our own decisions.

Just as I was about to lift my head and begin a discussion with Seth about our new situation and what it meant for us, Seth pulled me back to look down at me with a wide smile. He then stood and directed me to stand next to him and asked me to follow him for another surprise. He led me to the second floor and showed me around pointing out the numerous guest rooms before leading me to the room at the end of the hall. He opened the door to reveal a huge bedroom illuminated with the glow of dozens of candles. The decorations in this room were simply breathtaking with white satin bedding adorning a massive king size bed over which a soft white canopy draped lazily down along the four tall wooden posts that stood sentinel at each corner. At the far end of the room was another set of French doors to which Seth led me and opened them revealing a beautiful balcony that appeared to reach out over the water and seemed to stretch the entire width of the house.

At the far end of this balcony stood an arch adorned with beautiful wisteria, just like I had chosen for our wedding decorations for the altar of our ceremony. I left Seth's side and walked over to the arch reaching my hand forward and tucking it behind one of the fragrant clusters of flowers and leaning forward to enjoy their aroma. The moon was now high in the sky casting a blue glow on the surf below and everything around me on the balcony. I sighed and closed my eyes to take another whiff when I suddenly felt Seth's arms wrap around me from behind pulling me into his warm body. I slowly turned toward him and wrapped my arms tightly around his chest squeezing him tight and burying my face in his neck.

"Time for your present," he whispered in my ear.

I looked up at him in surprise, "You got me a present on top of all of this?"

He chuckled, "Of course I did!" He turned to grab a small package on a table behind the arch and held it out to me. I gently took the small square box from his hand and peeled the paper away to reveal a white box with a swan on top. I opened it and smiled as I pulled out a small crystal shell with an authentic looking pearl in the middle. I smiled and looked up at him beaming down at me.

"To answer the question that you haven't asked yet, but I know you're thinking…yes it's a real pearl. It's Swarovski crystal too."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, "It seems Swarovski crystal, pearls, and sapphires was a theme for my birthday this year too, this comb is Swarovski with pearls, Edward's earrings, this, Mom and Dad's necklace and earrings, Bella's bracelet…it's actually pretty cool. Do you think the rest of them know the significance of the pearl?"

"Well Edward definitely does and he may have told the others. It's hard to know for sure though. Do you like it?"

"Like it? I LOVE it! It's definitely my favorite of the day because it's an oyster from MY oyster."

He shook his head with a smile before leaning down to place a delicious kiss on my lips as I wrapped my free hand around his neck and stroked it gently.

"Thank you for all of this Seth. It's been such a wonderful birthday."

"It's not over yet my Angel. I've been thinking about all of this for a very long time, pretty much since the night we got engaged. The conversation that you shared with Nessie that evening has been echoing in my mind ever since…as of today, we are no longer bound by our promises or the law…as of today we only have ourselves to answer to."

He paused looking down at me with a serious expression on his face and I couldn't help but be mesmerized by his lips as he spoke. They were so perfect and irresistibly kissable. I struggled to focus on his words, trying to keep from being further distracted.

"I struggled long and hard with the decision of what we should do. On one hand, in two short months we will stand in front of our family and friends and we will finally be husband and wife and a big part of me has been feeling we should save something so special as both of our first time for the night when we are united both body and soul. At the same time, I've been struggling for months against the desires of my heart. Every time you are close to me my body begs to be closer to you, to be united with you in every single way because in so many ways we already are united in every way but our bodies. It's been a horrible internal struggle for me."

I shivered slightly as I started to feel nervous about what he was about to say. I understood his struggles because I had been feeling similarly off and on ever since we were engaged as well, but at the same time I wanted to be with him in every way possible. He pulled me closer and rubbed my arms in an attempt to keep me warm thinking that the shiver was due to the temperature. He locked his eyes with mine in question and I shook my head in answer before encouraging him to continue.

"Anyway, that is when I remembered some of the details of your conversation with Nessie that night when she brought up the distinction of what really makes a marriage work. A wedding is a ceremony to allow your friends and family to celebrate in your joy and is an outward ceremony to prove to the world and the government that you are joined, but a MARRIAGE is about the commitment between two people and their undying devotion to one another. It's about the promises and betrothals you make to one another and no ceremony in front of a group of people and with a piece of paper verifying the event can either make those stronger or weaker."

Then he did something I wasn't expecting, he took my left hand in his and kneeled down on one knee in the moonlight on the balcony. "So instead, I am hoping that you, Angelina Cecelia Cullen, will start a marriage with me tonight here on this balcony, just you and me. I want to spend every day of the rest of my life with you and nobody else. You are my sun and my moon. You give me light to guide me through the day and control the tides of my night. I have loved you for so long, there are times that I believe that I loved you before you were ever even born. I honestly believe with all of my heart that God made you especially for me and I hope that you will be willing to let me love you and take care of you for the rest of your life. Will you do me the honor of spending the rest of my days in your presence?"

Tears streaked my cheeks as I stood there staring down into the dark brown eyes of my future that had their own tears leaking from their beautiful almond shaped curves. My chest was tingling with adrenaline and my breath kept hitching in my chest as I struggled to take a full breath as the enormity of this moment overwhelmed me. I was quiet for a moment and I could feel something sliding up my finger and looked down in time to see a band, with a space separating two marquis shaped blue sapphires with two small round diamonds on either side slide up to wrap perfectly around the heart shaped solitaire engagement ring on my left hand. It was the most beautiful wedding band I had ever seen and the new set glittered on my hand in the moonlight.

I swallowed trying to find my voice as the tears rolling down my face caused my words to crack slightly. "Absolutely and forever. I love you so much." I grabbed his face and stepped forward running my hands into his hair and pulling him into a passionate kiss. His hands grabbed longingly at my back a he pulled me even closer deepening the kiss with even more passion. We finally broke away both panting as I pulled on his hands indicating for him to stand knowing that his knee must be starting to ache. He started to lean forward to kiss me again but I placed a finger on his lips before he could.

"I didn't know about this to write anything ahead of time, but I'd still like a chance to say something too if that's okay." A wide smile filled his face and a twinkle lit his eyes as I led him over to the railing directing him to lean across as I grabbed both of his hands in mine and cradled them between us as I looked into his endlessly loving eyes.

"Seth, you are so incredibly amazing. I never understood what love really was until I found you. You are the kindest, sweetest, most loving man I know and every day I thank God for sending you into my life. I wake up each morning in your arms and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am the luckiest woman in the world and I can think of nothing I'd rather do than spend every single day and night of the rest of my life with you. You are my soul mate and my life mate and I thank you so much for making my life so incredibly amazing."

Tears continued to flow down both of our faces as we stood in the bright moonlight staring into one another's eyes. I knew that with the dress, the jewelry, the flowers, and the pomp and circumstance that our wedding ceremony would be beautiful, but it would never compare to this night on a balcony by the ocean when Seth and I forever bound our souls to one another through our own personal promises. This night was the first night of our married lives.

We started off with gentle kisses in the moonlight as we held one another, but with nothing in our way, our kisses quickly transitioned to become more and more eager. We were both on the same page, both more than ready for this step as Seth bent down to lift me into his arms and this time his carrying me bridal style had a whole new meaning. He carried me through the French doors and back to the bedroom standing me next to the king size bed in the flickering flames of at least two dozen white cylindrical candles spread throughout the room. Our kissing resumed as Seth slowly sat me on the bed keeping his eyes focused on mine as he gently ran his hands down my legs and removed my uncomfortable heels tossing them into a far corner of the room before pulling me to stand once more in front of him.

As we kissed and our hands roamed in the dark I slowly pushed his jacket off of his shoulders as he gently unzipped my dress and let it fall away to reveal the "slip" Alice convinced me to wear under my dress which I now know was actually a sexy nightie for Seth's benefit. His eyes roamed my body as I blushed at the realization that definitely Alice and Edward, and most likely everyone else back home as well knew exactly what was happening here tonight. My embarrassment passed quickly as Seth moved forward to kiss my shoulder and across my exposed collar bone as we fell together in perfect harmony. The waves of love and lust always present in these moments of splendor were amplified with the new knowledge of our fully bonded souls and soon to be fully bonded bodies as well and very soon we were both nervously facing the last boundary in our intimate relationship left to cross. We both gazed into each other's eyes and he asked if I was sure.

"I have never been more certain of anything in my life," I answered back and he slowly moved forward and I suddenly encountered both the worst pain and the most pleasure I had ever felt in my life. I whimpered and squeezed my eyes closed as an involuntary tear rolled down my face. Poor Seth continued to apologize as I tried to comfort him reminding him that the first time was always going to hurt. Thankfully after a while the pain numbed and I was left with only pleasure and suddenly I realized that I was in heaven. To be with Seth in this way was so much more amazing than I had ever dreamed.

When we were finished we held one another in the moonlight neither of us willing to look away as we stared into each other's eyes. I truly never thought I could feel even more love or be any closer to Seth than I had been this morning and yet it was so pale in comparison to the depth of the feelings I had for the man in my arms now. He slowly leaned down placing sweet kisses on my nose, forehead, cheeks, and finally my lips as we both lay in complete bliss and total fulfillment. At some point in the early hours of the morning we finally drifted off to sleep still happily tucked in one another's arms waking up to do it all over again with the light of dawn. These were the first days of my forever and I had never been happier.

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_**Reminder: Seth POV (warning this is a full on lemon) is on my extras post if you're interested.**_

**Author's Note: Well what did you guys think? Please, oh please share your thoughts with me. I've been dying to get this chapter out for ages and now it's finally here and I want to hear your thoughts. Thank you to all of you who have added my stories to your favorites and alerts. It makes me so happy to see that more and more people care enough about my stories to read more! Extra special thanks to those of you who have taken time to leave reviews. You are the encouragement that keeps me working late into the night to complete the next chapter after my kids have gone to bed. Thanks for helping to keep me motivated and on the ball!**

**Featured Author: Quina Clara. QC is another long time reader of these stories and a very faithful reviewer. She has one story for Twilight called Running With Wolves. The summary is this: ****Bri is a regular girl, with parents that are always on the move. When she moves to the rainy Pacific coast, little does she know that it will be harder to leave this time. Of course, Seth fans seem to be drawn to my story (hmm…wonder why) and his is also a major character in her story. If you get some time go check QC out!**


	21. Transition, Progression, & Conversation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, although I'd love to!**

**_Author's Note: I'm not sure why I struggled so much with this chapter. I guess because this is pretty much a transitional chapter and I always struggle more with those. During my writer's block I had an idea for another totally different story, an AU focused on Jasper called Faded Memories. Check it out if you get the time. I'd like to hear your opinions. It worked too…writing it seems to have primed my mental juices and then this chapter came right together afterward._**

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21. Transition, Progression and Conversation

Waking up every morning in my fiancé Seth's arms has always been a pleasure. Waking up in my husband Seth's arms was pure and unadulterated heaven. My whole world was brighter and everything smelled and felt better. It was now sometime in the late morning and was the second or maybe third time I had woken up since falling asleep in his arms after we made our eternal vows to one another on the balcony last night. We sort of found it hard to keep our hands to ourselves after so very long of having to keep ourselves in check.

I think we would both have happily stayed in that bed all day long, but our rumbling stomachs had other ideas. I rolled to look over at my insanely handsome husband who was still sound asleep despite the loud grumble emanating from his stomach to which mine seemed to answer back just as loudly. I giggled and decided that instead of waking him up I would surprise him with a little thank you for all of the sweet and wonderful work he had put into my birthday the day before.

I rolled to my other side attempting to get out of bed without waking him but found myself being pulled back by warm strong arms into Seth's warm and oh so incredibly sculpted chest. I giggled and rolled over to lay my head on his chest and drape my arm across his torso as I gently ran my hand back and forth across his tan rippled muscles. I couldn't help the devilish smile that filled my face as I thought possessively… _MINE! All Mine! Totally and completely MINE!_

"Okay, where do you think you're going…and why are you smiling so wickedly right now?"

I giggled again placing a few strategically placed butterfly kisses on the beautiful abs I now claim in the name of Angelina Cullen…soon to be legally Clearwater. Too bad I couldn't put a flag there or something as proof. Well, actually I guess the ring on his finger is all the flag I'll ever need.

"Hello? Earth to Lina," he said with an amused look in his eyes as the swiped his hand in front of my face a few times. I looked up at him through my eyelashes with my chin propped on my hand that lay flat across his newly claimed abs.

"I was going to go bring you lunch in bed since our stomachs seem to be rebelling against the lack of food. They've been gurgling back and forth like they are strategizing for a revolt." I answered with a giggle and he laughed too placing a kiss on my forehead.

"Okay, that explains where you were going, but that smile was far too devious to be about gurgling tummies." Oh this man knew me way too well.

I blushed and buried my head in his chest too embarrassed to admit what I had really been thinking. He chuckled and wiggled his finger under my chin lifting it to look at him. "You know you can tell me anything Angel."

"It's too embarrassing," I moaned pushing my head back down. He leaned up and grabbed my shoulders pulling me from his chest to look at him with a wide smile on his face.

"Please tell me Angel. You've got me wondering what in the world after the things we shared last night and this morning could be so embarrassing that you don't feel you can share it with me now."

My face was ten shades of red and I clenched my eyes shut. I took a deep breath before rambling out almost too quickly for him to catch, "IWasThinkingAboutHowYourSexyAbsAreMineNow."

He laughed as I peeked through one squinted eye to see the desire that sparked in his eyes as he grabbed me and flipped me so I was lying underneath him on the bed. His dark eyes smoldered down at me. "That's nothing to be embarrassed about because I was thinking the same thing about every," he leaned down to kiss my collarbone, "… single piece," he shifted to kiss my right bicep, "…of your beautiful," his kisses trailed from my bicep down my arm before jumping from my wrist to my stomach, "…body this morning when you woke me up the first time," I moaned a little as he kissed my stomach a few more times before moving back up to kiss my lips, "…and the second," leaning back again he smiled deviously down at me, "and most definitely the third."

I pushed my hand against his chest looking him in the eye with my crooked smile plastered to my face. "Excuse me? I happen to remember that it was YOU that woke ME up the second time and the third."

He laughed and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm glad you feel that way because I am yours, in every possible way."

I smiled up at the beautiful man that just told me he was mine, really and truly mine, and I was his. I nibbled on my lower lip and the smoldering embers in his eyes raged into a bright flame of desire as he leaned down and kissed me passionately. Our kisses were getting intense enough that I was pretty sure we wouldn't be getting lunch anytime soon until my stomach groaned and gurgled loudly causing my stomach muscles to literally vibrate against his chest. He pulled back and looked up at me in amusement for a second before his stomach groaned with matching vehemence and he laughed and tossed his head back.

"They really do sound like they're planning a mutiny don't they?"

I nodded and he smiled leaning down for another short sweet kiss before getting up and offering me his hand. I took it and he helped me off the bed leading me to the huge walk in closet that I hadn't actually seen yet, holding out my red silky robe that he had given me for Christmas for me to slide into. I turned my back to him sliding my arms in as he slipped it over my shoulder and kissed my neck pulling the sides across my body and tying the belt around my waist. I shivered and then turned to watch him shrug into his blue terry cloth bathrobe before reaching out for my hand and leading me down to the kitchen.

We worked together to make spaghetti in the kitchen and cleaned up the mess left behind from supper the night before in the gazebo before taking our lunch out to eat in the nice breeze. It was a beautiful day with bright sunshine and the relaxing sound of the surf. We sat as close as possible without my actually sitting on Seth's lap as we ate, never able to completely keep our hands off one another. One of us always had a hand on the other's arm, leg, shoulder, neck, waist, or chest. It was almost like we couldn't bear to be separated by even the slightest distance.

After we finished eating we cleaned up our mess and decided to get dressed and take a stroll up the beach. The water in late April was far too cold this far north, so we didn't even bother with swimsuits and instead dressed in jeans, tee shirts, and sneakers before making our way back down to the deck. We stepped through the gazebo and out into the sunlight of the large deck that led to the long steep staircase that descended down the side of a small cliff to the sandy beach below. The waves beat relentlessly against the shore as we walked with our arms draped tightly around one another.

We ran and played our way down the shoreline for more than an hour before Seth suggested we make our way back to the house. He turned and offered me a piggyback ride, which I gratefully accepted as I ran forward and jumped up on his back wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck burying my nose into the sweet smelling juncture where his neck and shoulder joined. It felt like a day out of a fairy tale, and it was the happiest fairytale I had ever heard.

After we returned from our beach trek we spent a little time returning the furniture and things that Seth had moved out of the gazebo for my birthday night back where it belonged. Of course he tried to convince me to let him do it by himself, which I refused to allow. Then we moved into the large living area with the massive white marble fireplace and Seth started a fire while I played around with the massive stereo on the far wall. I plugged my iPod into it to listen to some familiar music while we relaxed. While scrolling through my playlists, I happened to think of something we could do together that would be both romantic and productive. Alice had assembled a list of songs that would be good to use in the ceremony, so we sat and listened while we snuggled on the couch in front of the fire.

After we listened to a few of the songs on the list that we really didn't care for so much, Seth tipped my face up to look at him. "Actually Angel, I have a song that I'd really like to use for our first dance, but I'd really like for it to be a surprise. Would that be okay?"

I smiled and I felt my heart melt into goo, I loved when he wanted to do sweet romantic things like that for me and I could think of no better day than our wedding day. "I think that would be wonderful!"

He smiled and then looked down with a bit of apprehension in his voice, "You don't totally hate country do you? I mean, I love the song and what it says is perfect, but it's country so if you hate country then it might ruin it for you."

I shrugged, "There's some I like and some I don't. I guess it totally depends on the song, but if you're so sure it's perfect then I'm sure I'll be fine with it."

He smiled down at me and kissed my nose, "I am so in love with you. I am so glad you're going to be my wife."

I flashed the wedding band still on my left ring finger in his face while pointing at it with my right index finger with my cocky crooked smile on my lips, "Correction…I already am your wife…we're just waiting two months for the paperwork to go through."

He smiled a wide mischievous smile as he chuckled lightly pulling me up to lie on top of him face to face. "Yes! Yes you are," he whispered in my ear before kissing my earlobe. We didn't hear the music any more after that; we were in our own little world as we claimed one another as our own once more in front of the warm crackling fire.

The rest of our weekend continued like this. In the basic tradition of my birthdays, my family arranged for me to have a three-day weekend allowing us to stay at the beach house until Monday afternoon. It made me sad to be leaving our honeymoon retreat, the place where we made our vows to one another on the beautiful balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and gave ourselves to one another completely. We both stood staring at the house with Seth's arms wrapped around my chest from behind and his chin resting on my shoulder. He turned and placed a sweet kiss on my cheek.

"It's really not about the place we made our promises, but more of what it is that we promised my Angel. We'll always carry those promises with us everywhere we go."

I turned to look at him and our lips met for one last kiss before the four-hour road trip home. We finally pulled away from our kiss and Seth took my hand leading me to the passenger side of the car and opening the door for me. I kissed his cheek before sliding into the seat and reaching over to plug my iPod into the stereo for the ride home.

As we drove along the winding road that ghosted back and forth along the coast I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes soaking up the last of the bright warm sun. I felt Seth reach over and take my hand and I turned to look at him with a smile. I may have been leaving the warmth of the giant orb in the skies above, but for the rest of my days I would have my own personal sun by my side. I pulled away from the window to rest my head on his wide warm shoulder and sighed as I curled both of my arms around his bicep and closed my eyes. When I opened them again I was shocked to find that we were pulling up the long driveway to our house. Our trip was officially over and I couldn't help but feel sad that our weekend of unrestrained affection was over because now we would have to be considerate of those around us…or did we?

We hadn't even made it all the way into the house when my family members materialized from the forest path and gathered around us with wide smiles and hugs. The second Alice saw the wedding band on my finger she screamed yanking my hand up with such ferocity that I feared for my bones for an instant.

"Please tell me that we still get to have the wedding! We put too much into it to cancel now!"

We laughed, "Alice, calm down," Seth assured her taking my hand gently from her grasp and kissing my ring gently. "We didn't do anything official, it was sort of a private declaration situation like I explained to you, and I just decided that I wanted her to get the ring when I did it."

Her tiny frame visibly relaxed as she realized her precious wedding plans hadn't been negated. Edward and Jasper grabbed our bags for us, as we all made our way into the living room and my mother and sisters asked me about the house and the dinner and what was said, all the while being careful to avoid any details that they didn't want to hear about to my relief…until Emmett decided to join the conversation at least.

He walked over and put his arm around Seth's shoulders. Seth visibly tensed at the close contact knowing the question that was coming and fearing Emmett's reaction toward the actual answer.

"So does this mean you guys FINALLY did the deed?"

I rolled my eyes at Emmett, "Em, do you _really_ want to know the answer to that question?"

He looked back and forth between Seth and me a few times before a big mischievous smile crossed his face as he squeezed Seth's shoulders affectionately using the other hand to ruffle his hair, "About time dog! I was beginning to think you guys lacked the chemistry or something."

I smiled at Seth and mumbled, "Trust me, chemistry was never our problem," with a smirk. Seth and I locked eyes and his fear melted away completely as he returned my expression. Everyone else laughed except for Edward and Jasper who unfortunately had to endure the thoughts and emotions that we couldn't help but be experiencing in that moment.

We all sat and talked for about an hour before they noticed I was tired and offered to leave us so I could get a good night sleep for school the next morning. As they were leaving, I asked Edward, Bella, Jasper, and Alice to stay behind.

"So we're not invited?" Emmett pouted from the doorway as Rosalie was pulling him outside.

"Oh Em, if you seriously want to discuss how we will be handling the sex life of Seth and I, then please do stay."

He looked a bit sick and I saw a slight shiver flutter though his limbs. I guess teasing about the situation and actually dealing with the reality of it were two entirely different things for Emmett. He then graciously left to give us some privacy. My siblings all sat watching me intently looking extremely uncomfortable. I was surprised by the fact that I actually wasn't. Determination was my predominant emotion in that moment instead.

"Okay guys, here's the deal. Up to this point we've been sort of bending over backwards trying to keep our promise to each other and to keep everyone else from feeling uncomfortable, but now that we're essentially married and no longer holding back in the physical sense, I think it's going to be more difficult for us to do that." They all nodded as Edward grimaced obviously getting visions of things he didn't want to see.

"Bella, could you shield us please?" She nodded and after a few seconds, the grimace eventually disappeared.

"The thing is…I've lived in this family a long time and I have heard each and every couple in this family _together_ from time to time. This being so, I assume that you guys should probably understand why we can't guarantee that we can be quite as considerate as we have been in the past." They all grimaced a bit at the news that I had heard their escapades in the past and then nodded in agreement that they did understand why it would be difficult for us from here on out.

"So basically Bella, I'm counting on you. The only way we will all survive living this close is if you can shield us from Edward again when he needs you to. I know it gets taxing on you after a while but I also know that it was the only way that he survived Jake and Nessie's honeymoon stage, and he's going to need you again." She nodded.

"Jasper, we're going to do our best to keep our emotions under control unless we are here, but there are no guarantees as you have seen in the past. Just please understand that it will take us a while before we get used to the new state of things." I looked over at Seth who was smiling widely at me, obviously pleased at the things I was saying and taking the initiative to bring up the topic with my siblings.

"Alice, I'm pretty sure it's not too big of a deal for you since Seth is involved, but I also know from some of the things you provided for me to wear on this trip that things dealing with him are beginning to get clearer for you the longer he lives with all of us. Just please try not to peek." She nodded cheerfully from her spot next to Jasper as she continued to stroke his arm comfortingly.

"This shouldn't be an issue as far as the rest of the family goes as long as they don't venture too close to the house. I would say that perhaps you guys should mention a good rule of thumb would be to text or call us before coming over to make sure to coast is clear or else we won't be responsible for any emotional trauma from whatever they might end up hearing.

They all agreed and left and as soon as the door was closed Seth crossed the room to grab me around the waist and kiss me. "Now that's my authoritative little wifey telling the vamps how things are to be done!" I laughed and tipped up onto my toes to meet his lips with my own before he swept me up to carry me to our bedroom in order to christen our bed.

* * *

I debated all evening and morning before going back to school if I should take off the wedding band portion of my ring in order to stave off the Spanish Inquisition from my friends at school Tuesday morning, but in the end I couldn't bear to take it off, even for a few short hours. So when I walked into school and after putting my things away joined my friends in the commons, the commotion that met me wasn't exactly a surprise.

"What the heck is that?" Leighton asked pointing at my ring as though it were some toxic waste.

"Um…A ring," I answered sarcastically.

"Well we know that, but why is it sitting so nicely on your engagement ring like oh I don't know a wedding ring?"

"Seth and I went away for my birthday and we had a little talk and he gave it to me."

"Aren't you supposed to save the wedding ring for the day you actually get married?"

I shrugged with a slight nod as her eyes enlarged to the size of saucers. "You got hitched?!" She screeched loud enough to turn heads on the far side of the cavernous room.

"No, not exactly. I mean there was no minister, no license, no witness, just him, me, a beach, and some promises."

"Ah, I get it an emotional wedding so you could do it without feeling all guilty. Nice! He's a smooth one!"

I couldn't help but feel anger rise up in me and it definitely came out in the words I spat back. "It was not like that at all. It was very special for the both of us and for you to say things like that makes it sound cheap and pathetic when actually it was amazing and far more wonderful than spouting a bunch of tired vows in front of a group of people. Now if you'll excuse me." I stood up and walked out of the room biting the inside of my cheek as my face flushed a deep red.

I didn't make it far before Connor caught up to me followed closely by Leighton and Malia. Connor put his arm around my shoulder and kissed my temple rubbing my bicep comfortingly just before Leighton and Malia caught up to us.

"I'm sorry Lina. I really am. I didn't mean it."

"But you did Leighton. I don't expect you to understand, but ugh…why do you have to ruin things like this for me? Friends are supposed to support each other not put each other down."

"I know Lina, I'm sorry. Truth of the matter is I'm kind of jealous of what you and Seth have. Lucas and I have been together nearly two years longer than you two and our relationship is nowhere near as sweet as yours. I guess a part of me wishes that Lucas would want to marry me now too…not that I'm ready. Anyway Lina, I'm sorry."

She stepped forward and pulled me from Connor's half hug to wrap her arms around my neck. After a few seconds she stepped back and I smiled and looked over to see Malia smiling widely too. Malia never made negative comments about my relationship with Seth, but that's because she really did understand. She and Riley were very much like Seth and me, except Riley was only eighteen and wasn't ready for marriage yet while Seth was in reality much older and very ready for the lifetime commitment.

We only had about five minutes before the warning bell would ring, but Leighton, Malia, and Connor all pulled me into an empty classroom and made me share all of the details of my birthday with my family and with Seth and they all cooed at the sweetness of what Seth had done for me. They all hugged me again as the warning bell rang and we all went our separate ways for class.

During lunch that day there were two major topics of conversation going on. One was the prom which I wasn't too terribly excited about other than the opportunity to spend the evening wrapped in Seth's arms again, but I get to do that all night every night and if I were at home we could do other things that we can't do with an audience. Yeah, crossing that last barrier really sent my mind spiraling into the gutter, not that I really minded. The other discussion revolved around graduation.

Leighton turned to Malia and me pulling us closer to speak in hushed tones so nobody else would hear. "Okay girls, we need to have a girl's night out…just the three of us and no boys. We need to celebrate graduation our way. What do you guys say? Are you in?"

I exchanged wary looks with Malia. We both knew this could go one of two ways, we could have a lot of fun or we could end up getting into a lot of trouble. After a second of silent exchanges we shrugged and smiled as we nodded. "We're in!"

"Okay, the night before graduation we'll all meet at Lina's house and then we'll go out from there. I'll make sure we have everything we need…sound good?"

We both nodded and smiled before scooting back and returning to the conversations going on at the table. I was actually pretty excited for a girl's night out. We always did things with the boys and never really got any girl only bonding time and this would most likely be our last big hurrah. After graduation the girls were both headed to NYU (New York University) and I was going to be getting married and staying behind, so this seemed like a great opportunity to say goodbye to my two best non-mythical friends.

I returned home that afternoon to a very impatient Seth. As soon as I closed the front door he had me pinned against it kissing me with a great deal of stored up passion.

"Geez, this day seemed to last forever! I missed you so much Angel," Seth practically growled into my ear. I giggled and trailed my fingers through his hair.

"I missed you too sweetheart."

He kissed me a bit longer before finally pulling back and taking my backpack from my arm leading me to the couch. He asked how my day was and listened patiently. He was more than a little annoyed with the start of my day, but was pleased when I told him about the impending plans for the girl's night out.

"I think it's a great idea for you to go out just the girls that night. You need more normal teenage things like that and after all it's your high school graduation. It's almost your right to get into some mischief." He had a big wide grin that reached all the way up to his eyes. I could tell he got a kick out of the idea of me breaking some rules for a change.

"I'm not so sure about that. You don't know Leighton like I do. I'm a bit fearful as to what exactly she's going to come up with. I really don't want to get arrested or anything…and we're eighteen now so it would totally go on our permanent record!"

He laughed openly at me now, "Please, like you would actually go through with anything that bad! You're too straight edge for that baby."

"Yeah, well, sometimes guilt by association is enough to get you busted. Hopefully she won't be that stupid, but it is Leighton and when she starts pushing the limits she tends to get a little carried away."

He smiled and put an arm around my shoulder. "I'm sure it will all be fine, and besides, if anybody knows how to work around the system, it would be your family."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I reached up and kissed his jaw line. He moaned a little in response and kissed a couple times more before letting out a defeated sigh.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have started that. I have a lot of homework for tonight since I have to make up for yesterday too. I better get started."

He smiled down at me and kissed my temple. "Okay, you go get started at the table and I'll make us some supper, how does that sound?"

"Mmmm…that sounds like an excellent idea. I'm starving!"

He made supper and we ate together, after which Seth brought his laptop down from the office and worked at my side as I trudged through two days worth of assignments from all of my classes. By the time I was done, it was nearly midnight and I was completely exhausted. I finished the last paragraph in my history text and closed it with a loud slam letting my head fall heavily to land with a small bounce on the hard cover.

"Oowiee," I moaned. I heard Seth let out a light chuckle from across the table and then the next thing I knew I was being lifted from my seat and carried up the stairs. I was too tired to protest so I silently leaned my head against Seth's neck and wrapped my arms across his shoulders. He didn't turn on the light when we got up to the bedroom, carrying me over to the bed in the dark and helping me shed my jeans and shirt leaving me to sleep in my underwear and tucking me under the blankets before placing a sweet kiss on my forehead and disappearing back into the hall closing the door behind him as my eyes fluttered shut again and didn't open until my alarm clock began to sound early the next morning.

_**

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Author's Note: Well there it is…not my most favorite chapter ever, but for a transition chapter I felt like it turned out fairly well. Thanks to my beta Mel for her help and suggestions! Thanks for reading and please remember to review....oh and if you haven't read it yet, please take a moment to read Fading Memories and give me your opinion. :D

_**Featured Author: SupernaturalKnight88: SK88 has two stories one is a King Arthur story and the other is for Harry Potter. Changing Fates:**__** Four girls were brought back to King Arthur's time, but soon they discover each of them were brought back for a reason. Because of You: Hermione and Ron share their first big fight as, a married couple. Making Hermione think back to when she was a child. ONE SHOT! If you get some time, go check them out!**_


	22. Tricky Pixies and Pricless Vets

**22. Tricky Pixies and Priceless Vets**

"MARY ALICE BRANDON…CULLEN…WHITLOCK…HALE, whatever the hell name you are going by this year! What on earth were you thinking?! I would not, could not, and _will not_ EVER wear a dress like this out in public!"

"Lina, you promised in New York, I have free reign for prom this year. This is the dress I found for you."

"That was when I thought you weren't COMPLETELY INSANE! This isn't a dress….it is just barely more than a bikini top with a long satin skirt that starts just above my butt crack! I will not wear this in public much less to a high school dance," I yelled standing in front of the mirror wearing a blue satin backless gown with the neckline that dipped so low that it plunged all the way to my belly button exposing every bit of cleavage with just two small rhinestone studded x shaped contraptions holding the neckline close enough to avoid full exposure of my chest. To tops of the strips of material that could barely be referred to as a bodice came up and narrowed into two rhinestone covered straps that went over my shoulders and attached to two sets of similarly adorned straps that attached to the sides of the bodice to meet and clasp in the middle of my back. I had to admit that the blue shade was stunning and the material was very soft, but while I had definitely come a long way in being more comfortable with my body since my first dance experience, there was no way in the world I would ever be compelled to wear this dress in public. I might wear it while alone in my house with Seth perhaps, but never in the company of any other individual living or undead.

"Come on Lina! You look amazing in it," my evil little pixie sister begged from beside where I stood pouting with my arms crossed over my chest.

"Alice, I said no. I will not wear this dress in public…and besides, If I walked down those stairs in this dress tonight between my brothers wrapping me in a blanket and locking me in the basement or my husband whisking me off to our house to be alone…one way or another I would never make it to the prom. Forget about it. I'll just wear the one from last year. I loved that dress."

Alice looked like I had just slapped her in the face, "LINA! You just can't wear the same dress to prom two years in a row! You just can't!" She turned on her puppy dog eyes and I groaned sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning forward to bury my face in the pillow I grabbed from in front of the headboard.

"Okay, fine. How about the California dress? It would work."

"No, but I do have one other option for you." Suddenly her pouty face melted and was replaced with a devious calculating smile that sent shivers down my spine. She disappeared into her closet and reappeared in front of me in the blink of an eye cradling a long black garment bag in her arms. "I promise it's more conservative than that one," she said with a slow smile nodding toward the blue satin dress of my worst 'overexposed in public' nightmares.

I gave her a wary look as I grabbed the bag laying it on the bed and slowly pulling down the zipper to reveal a lighter blue long satin gown with a concertina skirt. It too was backless, but the neckline was far more conservative and the top of the straps went over the back and crisscrossed into wider straps that wrapped around the side and crisscrossed again under the bust line and then met once more in the back at the top of the skirt. Thankfully the top of this skirt fell far higher on my back near the level of my waist.

I looked up and smiled. Alice's smile grew as she flitted around behind me helping me remove the slightly sultry blue gown and helped me slide into the more conservative gown from the garment bag. I moved to stand in front of the mirror and fidgeted slightly, but I did feel much better in this dress than the last as I spun and watched the pleated satin skirt flair around me.

"Much better…thank you Alice."

"Sure thing sweetie," she replied with a smile as she pulled me by my hand to sit in the middle of her bathroom to put another layer of hairspray in my carefully pinned hair which I now knew was strategically put up in order to display my open backed dress. A few minutes later she sprayed me with some sweet smelling perfume and helped me step into a pair of precariously high blue jewel toned Manolos before handing me a small color coordinating clutch and ushering me toward the door and the top of the staircase.

Before we reached the end of the hall I put my hand on Alice's shoulder and bent down to whisper into her ear as low as I possibly could hoping that the fewest number of prying ears nearby would hear, "I might not want to wear that other dress to prom, but if it just happened to show up in my closet sometime that would be okay." I looked down at her and winked as she started to giggle uncontrollably while nodding her head in understanding.

I followed Alice down the stairs to be greeted with the usual fanfare before a major event. Seth waited at the bottom of the stairs offering his hand for me to hold while taking the last few steps and when I reached him he slid his arms around my waist and gently stroked the exposed flesh of my back just above the skirt with his warm fingers as I fought to suppress a moan. Yeah, definitely would never have made it to the dance in the last dress and it might even be an issue in this one!

We both suppressed a laugh as we heard Jasper and Edward groan a little from the far side of the room and let go of one another as I went to hug the rest of my family before Seth led me to the Shelby. I had insisted that we not expend the money on anything fancy this year, especially considering that my beloved Shelby would serve our needs just fine.

Before the dance Seth took me out for a candlelight dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. Once we were done he drove me to the dance and escorted me proudly into the gym. I was a bit self conscious as I noticed that we garnered a lot of attention. I never left my wonderful Seth's arms the rest of the night and with the exception of a bit of quality time spent with my friends, we barely noticed that anyone else existed in the room that night.

"Well, this is it…My last night school dance," I smiled up at Seth as we danced snuggled tightly in one another's arms to the last song of the evening.

He frowned down at me a little, "Does that make you sad? It's okay if it does, I mean, you haven't had that much of an opportunity to really enjoy it and well…"

I chuckled reaching up to cover his mouth with my hand to stop his anxious rant. "Absolutely not, I'm happy to leave this part of my life behind. And trust me, I experienced far more of it than I ever thought I would get to…or even wanted to for that matter considering you pushed me into half of the things I experienced this year." He smiled down at me as I moved my fingers to stroke the hair at the nape of his neck.

"I can't wait for the next era of my life to start. I love being married to you and I'm looking forward to taking your name and being publicly recognized as your wife. Make no mistake about it…I have absolutely no regrets!" I spread my fingers across the back of his neck and pulled his face down the three inches that separated us thanks to the high heels and met his lips with a passionate kiss.

The music stopped and the lights came up in the gymnasium, but we didn't bother to break our kiss. Finally a few minutes later we pulled away to find that we were nearly alone in the large cavernous room with only a few teachers and volunteers left behind attempting to begin cleaning up the mess left in the wake of the massive dance. Seth smiled at me and pulled me close again for another long embrace before reaching up and taking my hands from behind his neck and placing a tender kiss on my wedding ring before walking backwards pulling me toward the door and yet never taking his eyes off of mine.

When we reached the outside he handed the small slip of paper to the valet and pulled me to his chest again as we waited for my car. When the car arrived he helped me into the passenger seat before sliding into the driver's seat. He took my hand one more time kissing my ring and then proceeded to shift through the gears as we drove away while continuing to hold my hand.

We drove up the long drive to our house. Without a word Seth led me straight upstairs to the door of our bathroom, he slowly opened the door to the soft glow of white cylindrical candles and a very inviting looking bubble filled Jacuzzi tub. He gently assisted me out of my gown and into the tub where he joined me shortly after and we melted together in the relaxing warmth of the tub as soft love songs played on my small stereo on the counter by the sink. I sighed resting my head against Seth's shoulder as I leaned my back against him in the massive tub. It was the perfect ending to another perfect day with the love of my life.

* * *

The week after prom marked the end of the community college semester which unfortunately meant finals. My classes this semester were easier in the fact that I had plenty of assistance if I needed it, yet more difficult in the shear volume of knowledge I needed to retain in order to pass my finals. My nice long relaxing bath with Seth was the last relaxing moment I got to enjoy because the next morning the cramming began. English wasn't so bad, the Computer Sciences course would be tolerable, but the History final, which of course was the first one I would have to take, was going to be pure torture with a zillion similar dates that I had to know about forward and backward and a massive essay question that could be about any one of those dates which would ultimately be thirty percent of the test grade. I was an absolute and total basket case.

About an hour into my studying Seth called Jasper requesting his assistance in both calming me and helping me study for the test thinking he could probably give me tips to help me keep the events straight. I was grateful because he actually was a great help in both respects and even encouraged me to take breaks occasionally in order to keep my stress level manageable.

It was during one such break that we started talking about the events of the dance and I turned to look at Jasper with a knowing smile. "So, Jaz, that whole dress situation last night…I've been thinking about it…Ali played me like a fiddle and did that on purpose didn't she?"

He just looked at me and smiled. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Devious little pixie. She knew that after that first dress I would be relieved to get into the one I actually wore." Jasper and Seth both smiled and chuckled before we talked a bit more and then resumed our studying.

The next day at school was pure torture. The morning classes seemed to drag on forever and instead of participating or listening, I sat with my eyes glued to the list of dates and events sitting in front of me trying desperately to make sure that the last of the little facts were stored securely in my brain.

I fidgeted my way through lunch, barely listening to the playful banter of my friends before slowly making my way toward the classroom that housed my history class. Our entire afternoon was set aside to allow us adequate time to complete our final and I fought to swallow past the large lump in my throat as the teacher walked past me sitting the thick test booklet on the desk in front of me.

After she had passed the last of the papers out she rambled off the testing procedures before giving us all permission to break the seal and begin the test. I reached forward with a shaky hand and ran my pencil along the bound edge of the booklet breaking the small white tape that held the papers together and pulled it open writing my name in the provided space and glancing at the first question.

I sighed and took a deep breath as I read the first entry and bounced my foot as I realized that this test was going to be every bit as difficult as I had feared. Two hours later I had finally managed to drudge through the one hundred multiple choice questions and finally make it to the essay portion of the exam. I turned the page with baited breath as I read the question and then smiled with a sigh of relief.

_Provide a detailed essay about the role Texas played in the Civil War. Be sure to provide details, dates, and the names and occupations of the major players in the rise and fall of the confederacy in Texas and its surrounding states. _

"God bless Jasper," I sighed under my breath with a smile as I settled in to intimate all of the knowledge I possessed about Texas thanks to my wonderful brother.

Forty-five minutes later I walked to the front of the class with a smile on my face sitting the completed test booklet on the teacher's desk. She looked up at me and smiled as she observed my shock that I was the first one to complete the exam. She nodded and whispered for me to have a nice summer nodding toward the door. I nodded back and walked out of the door into the empty hallway collecting my things from my locker and making my way out to my car to return home and thank Jasper profusely for all of his help.

After my History final, my other two were a breeze. As I walked out of the building Wednesday afternoon after completing my English final I almost felt as though I were floating. Next week were high school finals, which my status as a senior and my A averages gave me a reprieve once more from enduring those tests. For all intents and purposes, my high school career was finished. I just had to float through the rest of this week and then show up for the graduation ceremony next Friday and then I would officially be done with high school forever. I couldn't help the wide smile that spread across my face as I slid behind the steering wheel pulling my cell phone out to ask Seth to meet me at our Valley before slamming the car into reverse to escape my parking space and then into first as I speed shifted my way out of town and toward the space where my wonderful husband was waiting to celebrate with me. My smile widened as the though occurred to me that maybe I could convince him to take me on a run to the waterfall to _really_ celebrate a half a second before my foot pushed the gas pedal a little closer to the floorboard in my excitement.

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Author's Note: Wow…that chapter sort of came together all of a sudden today and I was pleased that Mel only found two things that needed adjusting that were just better word choices. Thanks Mel! So, how strange is it that getting fired up about my writer's block story so much that I keep going back to it when I swore I wouldn't has led to me getting this story out even faster too? Doesn't make sense does it? Anyway in the way of totally awesome news…This story is only 3 reviews shy of having the same number of reviews as the entire 57 chapters of ITSOTD. I'm totally amazed at how much more quickly the reviews have accumulated. I know 212 reviews isn't much in comparison to the thousands that some stories get, but heck…I'm tickled pink. You guys please keep up the good work. Also thanks to all of you that might not be reviewing, but are adding this story to your favorites and alerts. At this moment, this story has 50 Favorites and 68 Alerts which just amazes me that so many of you guys are taking time out of your busy lives to read this. I am so grateful you guys! Thanks again so very much. Okay..I'm sorry, I've gushed enough. I'll let you get back to said lives after leaving you today's featured author below…

_**Featured Author: BellaandEdward4EVER2480, She's been a slightly more recent reviewer for this story, but she's been so sweet and supportive about both this story and the new one I posted recently, Faded Memories, that I just had to use her this week for my featured Author. She has two twilight stories. One is a Leah POV one shot called I Hate you, I Love You. The other is an AU called Carlisle's Decision. I've been following this one from the beginning and it's got a nice twist to the traditional Bella/Edward story. Please take some time to check her out and show her some love!**_


	23. Mischeif, Mayhem, and Marches

_**Author's Note: Sorry guys…when I posted the last chapter I had intended to post a link to the dresses on my profile and forgot…so I did it today with the prom dresses and the dresses in this chapter and a few other items of interest from this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy…today we have girl's night and graduation. The wedding is just a couple of chapters away!!!**_

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23. Mischief, Mayhem, and Marches

**Friday: Graduation Day: 12:10am**

_Ring…_

_Ring…Come on baby pick up!_

_Ring…Pick up, pick up, pick up… _

"Hello?" A drowsy voice answered much to my relief.

"Um Seth?" I asked nervously.

"Angel? What's wrong?"

"Um baby, you remember joking around last week about the whole getting arrested on girl's night out? Well…UH…I kind of need you to come bail me out of jail."

"What?!" I saw a smirk on the face of the officer sitting on the other side of the desk while I made my call.

"Yeah, I'm at the Clarksburg county jail. It seems my worst fears became reality tonight. Leighton's crazy scheme got us all arrested. As much as I don't want you to, I think you should call Mom and Dad and have them call the lawyer."

"Well what did you guys do?"

I groaned, "Baby it's too long a story to squeeze in the two short minutes I have left. Please just call my parents and come get me?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can my Angel. I love you."

"I love you too. Please hurry!" I whimpered before placing the handset back on the cradle with my handcuff bound hands.

The smirking officer grabbed the phone putting it back on his side of the desk before escorting me back to the cell I was sharing with Leighton, Malia, and a couple of street walkers. I walked straight to the far side of the cell to sit next to Malia not even making eye contact with Leighton.

"Come on guys! You can't stay mad at me forever!"

Malia and I huffed at the same time refusing to meet her eyes.

"How as I supposed to know that they would arrest you for that?"

More Silence.

"Did you at least get in touch with Seth?"

I nodded still not looking at her and she sighed leaning back against the wall with a huff. This was going to be a long night.

**Friday: 12:55am**

The burly female officer entered the holding area and walked to the door. "Cullen! Your bail has been posted. Go to the front desk to collect your personal belongings before you leave."

"Wait, what about us?" Leighton squeaked from the far wall.

"St. John's parents are in processing right now and she'll be getting out very soon, but you Donnelly have very intelligent parents that recognize the lesson that spending the night in this cell will teach you. They informed us that they would be coming in tomorrow morning to pick you up." Leighton groaned in horror earning a smug smile from the officer.

"Come on Cullen, I haven't got all day," the officer barked as she shoved at my shoulder insistently. I shot a look of apology back at Malia and Leighton before moving into the hallway to come face to face with a tired and upset looking Seth, a very concerned looking mother, and a very annoyed and disappointed looking father.

Nobody said a word as we walked to the front desk to sign me out and collect my personal belongings and make our way out to the car. We drove in silence the first few miles back home before my father took in a slow deep breath and started in.

"Lina, what were you girls thinking? Trespassing, loitering, and vandalism? What on earth convinced you three to do something so reckless?"

I sighed and looked out the window as tears began to pool in the corners of my eyes. I felt Seth's comforting hand stroke my arm and I pulled myself together and willed my brain to attempt to explain.

"It sounds a lot worse than what any of it actually was. It was basically a really silly game of truth or dare that got a little carried away. The dares started off tame enough…go into the store and pay for a pack of gum with a fifty dollar bill, prank call Wal-Mart and keep them on the phone for half an hour making you give them price quotes on ridiculous items, do a stupid dance in front of Riley and Lucas's house, I mean harmless silly stuff and we were having a lot of fun just being, well, juvenile. When the law got involved was when they upped the stakes. It started with Leighton daring Malia to buy an enema and throw it into her most despised teacher's swimming pool with a message written on it. It was a sealed enema…it didn't hurt anything, but that was one of the vandalism complaints. Then Malia made Leighton saran wrap the car of a teacher that picked on her all year and TP the tree in his front yard…that would be the second vandalism complaint."

I could hear a suppressed smile in my father's voice and I could feel Seth's body vibrating next to me with silent chuckles. "So where were you during all of this?"

"In the car hiding my face and laughing at them. I told them I wouldn't be a part of it…and that's when they gave me my dare. I swear I never really thought about the fact that it would be trespassing or be illegal. I guess I should have, but there were no warning signs or fences or gates or anything…" My voice trailed off in my humiliation in what I was about to admit. It seemed sort of silly to begin with and now that I've gotten in trouble, it seemed even more ridiculous.

"We're waiting," my father encouraged from the front seat with a definite edge to his voice. I felt so ridiculous. I was a woman who was about to be married in a little over a month and I was about to admit the incredibly foolish thing I had done with my friends.

I groaned and blushed looking down at my hands in my lap. "It was silly to begin with and now with everything that has happened, it seems so stupid that it isn't even funny. You know how they have those windmills just west of Clarksburg out in the open fields?" They all nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, they dared me to go up and touch one. That was it. They drove up the little dirt road and I jumped out of the car ran up to the big metal cylinder and touched it with my hand for all of three seconds and then ran back to jump in the car and we drove away…but unfortunately a county police car was parked not too far away from where we were and saw the lights and came to investigate and arrested us for trespassing and loitering." I closed my eyes and wished I were dead and then I heard it…the bubbling laughter that filled the car and I looked up to see Seth bent over grabbing his stomach in laugher and both of my parents shoulders bouncing.

"Oh Lina, leave it to you to get arrested for something so minor," my father chuckled from his place behind the steering wheel.

Seth finally regained his composure and reached over to pull me closer to him and stroke my hair soothingly. After a few minutes of hearing their laughter I started to see the humor in the situation myself and joined in with a little light laughter of my own. We finally settled down a few minutes later and I started to get worried again.

"So Dad, how bad is this though? I mean, will I be looking at something on my record?"

He shook his head, "After hearing the whole story I really don't think so. None of the things you girls did tonight caused any permanent damage to any property and were extremely minor infractions to begin with. I have a feeling you were probably arrested to be made an example of more than anything. You have a pristine record and considering what you told us about the area being unmarked Carlton will have no problem getting them to throw out any charges they might actually try to make stick. I wouldn't spend any more time worrying about it. Just consider it a lesson learned."

"What about Malia and Leighton? Leighton's parents are leaving her there overnight. I don't think she really deserves that."

"I'll ask Carlton to work out something for all three of you, but as far as Leighton goes, the lesson might be a good thing for her. You three were right at the edge of making some major mistakes tonight. If you had taken these pranks any further at all it could have resulted in far more serious repercussions."

"Okay, well, thank you for having him help them too Dad…and I am really sorry!"

"Lina, in your entire life the worst trouble you have ever gotten into was disappearing after school with Seth that one day to go on your wolf run. It's a part of being a teenager to get into a little mischief. Consider this another part of the experience that you managed not to miss." He chuckled again to himself as I sighed.

Soon we were home and of course my nosy siblings met us out in the yard to find out what had happened. Alice and Jasper were not with the crowd, which would explain why nobody knew it was coming when I called asking them to come get me. Completely exhausted from my long and less than illustrious day I asked my father if he would inform them on what happened while Seth took me home to get some rest.

We were halfway down the path when I heard the laughter of my siblings echoing over the treetops and I groaned leaning further into Seth and burying my face into his chest. He let out a light laugh before sweeping me up into his arms bridal style as I rested my head against his chest. He ran the rest of the way to our house and carried me up to our bathroom sitting me on the sink to get cleaned up from my long day. He left me there and walked back in a few minutes later with pajamas for me to change into. He helped me slip out of my clothes and into my pajamas before carrying me to our bed and tucking me in with a sweet kiss on the forehead before going around to his side of the bed and cuddling up to me wrapping his warm arms around my waist.

"So, do you think I will ever be allowed to live this one down?"

"Nope," he answered popping his p, "I'm pretty sure this will go in the family fable book right next to Emmett's tranny travesty."

I groaned and grabbed my pillow pulling it over my face in a useless attempt to hide from my shame. I was not looking forward to the jokes that would await me the next morning. I peeked from under the pillow at my alarm clock, which read two am. I moaned again returning the pillow to its original location under my head and tried to get comfortable.

I tossed and turned for quite a while before Seth sighed and began running his fingers through my hair as he hummed to me and finally I was able to drift off into a restless sleep.

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I woke up the next morning to the sound of music blaring up at me from the first floor. I groaned and threw on my robe before running down the stairs with barely open eyes to find Emmett and Rosalie swing dancing in our living room to the Elvis Presley song Jailhouse Rock and singing along at the top of their lungs.

_The warden threw a party in the county jail.  
The prison band was there and they began to wail.  
The band was jumpin and the joint began to swing.  
You shouldve heard those knocked out jailbirds sing.  
Lets rock, everybody, lets rock.  
Everybody in the whole cell block  
Was dancin to the jailhouse rock_

I groaned and rolled my eyes as I walked over and shut off the stereo.

Emmett turned toward me with a big smile on his face, "Well good morning there little jailbird! How was the pen?"

I groaned and rolled my eyes keeping my arms crossed over my chest. I looked over to see that Seth had followed me and stood staring hazily at the scene in our living room. He appeared to be even less awake than I was. I looked at the clock on the wall and it read six o'clock.

"We have had less than four hours of sleep. This was all very funny, but now it's time for the two of you to GET OUT!"

"Oh come on Lina, you've got your freedom back, you'd think that your time in the slammer would have loosened you up a bit more!"

"Oh Geez Em, I was in the Clarksburg County jail for all of two hours, that hardly counts as serving hard time!" Thankfully I was starting to wake up enough to be able to think of something that would send him on his way quickly. "Oh by the way, we had a couple of ladies who claimed to work for an escort service in there with us and the one said she thought she knew you. I believe 'she' mentioned something about 'that hunk 'o' mancake I almost landed at Deceptions.'" Emmett suddenly stopped laughing and frowned.

"Why you gotta be that way Lina? It was harmless fun and then you had to go bring that crap up!" He groaned and shivered and I couldn't help but let out a little chuckle.

"Hey, turn about is fair play brother bear! You tease me, I tease you right back!"

He sighed and bellyached, but less than a minute later Seth and I were alone again in our quiet and peaceful house. I shook my head and laughed as I walked back over to the bottom of the staircase to lean into the comforting embrace of my husband. We stood there a few minutes, wavering a bit in our exhaustion, before we slowly pulled ourselves back up the stairs and into our warm inviting blankets where we curled together again and were quickly back asleep.

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The graduation ceremony was scheduled to begin at four in the afternoon in the school gymnasium, but graduates had to be there an hour and a half early for class pictures and to pick up our caps and gowns and be lined up for the ceremony. We had a four-hour long rehearsal Thursday morning, so none of us were relishing having to be around an hour and a half early for more preparation.

I had hoped to get to sleep until I could either sleep no more or my alarm clock would wake me up at 1pm, but I had no such luck. At 11am an overexcited Alice came bounding into our bedroom to pull me from my warm comfy slice of heaven to get ready. I groaned and moaned initially, but finally relaxed and settled into my Angelina Barbie routine remembering my promise to myself to be more appreciative of my sister's efforts.

An hour later I emerged from my bathroom with my hair hanging in loose curls down my back, the sides pulled up in a barrette, and my makeup perfectly done with a natural looking theme. I had been given a choice between three satiny black dresses I could wear for the event. They were all fairly conservative in comparison with my prom options, but they were all short. The longest went down to just above my knee but was strapless, while the other two had higher necklines but only came down to mid thigh. I stood in front of the mirror for a long time comparing the pros and cons of each of the dresses. I had it narrowed down to the strapless and one that had a neckline very like the dress I wore on my birthday except it was beaded and there was a keyhole cut out just below the design yet high enough not to expose any cleavage. I stood for a long time debating…leggy or busty…leggy or busty? Even though I really loved the neckline of the shorter dress, I decided that I just wasn't comfortable with the idea of walking around all day with quite so short of a skirt, so I finally settled on the longer strapless number and Alice threw me into perilously high strappy black heels to go with it.

"You do realize that nobody will really see much of the dress right Al? You've been to more than enough graduations to know we wear gowns over the outfits."

"Ah yes, but there's always the before and after times, plus family pictures. You know Esme has her camera warmed up and ready to go!"

I groaned and Alice laughed. All in all, the whole getting ready process had been relatively painless with the exception of Alice apologizing profusely for not seeing the whole arrest thing coming ahead of time. I tried to tell her not to feel bad, but you know Alice, anytime something occurs that she missed she feels responsible for the mishap.

Once I was all ready for the day she led me to the house to find that my mother had prepared a really nice brunch for Seth and I to enjoy before making my way to the school to prepare for the ceremony. To my great relief, I didn't endure any more ridicule for the events that had transpired the night before and wondered if everyone had been ordered not to tease me, at least until after the ceremony. I glanced over at Edward and he nodded with a small smile and I chuckled a little under my breath before taking another bite of the delicious biscuits and gravy on my plate. I ate very, very carefully to avoid dropping food on my dress and was immediately swept away afterward to begin the torturously long picture taking session.

After having filled my mother's memory card and gotten hugs from all of my siblings, mom, dad, and Seth, I slipped behind the wheel of my car and made my way toward the school, struggling to adjust to driving the stick shift in high heels. I pulled into the parking lot at the same time as Riley, Lucas, Leighton, and Malia pulled in. Malia looked like she had been crying.

"Are you okay sweetie?" I asked her putting my arm around her shoulder.

"If being grounded for a month is okay, then yeah, not to mention the charges!" She began to sob again.

"Oh what are you whining about, you weren't stuck in a stinky cell all night with Candy and Destiny!" Leighton whined from behind us.

I laughed a little looking over my shoulder at her, no longer quite so angry knowing that the charges would most likely end up being dropped. "Well, we wouldn't have been there at all if you hadn't insisted on upping the stakes," I teased at her. Then I turned back to Malia. "Don't worry Malia, my family's lawyer seems to think that he will be able to get the charges dropped with our clean records and the fact that there were no warning signs or fences around the windmill. Everything will be okay."

She looked up at me with relief flooding her face, "Really?"

I smiled down at her with a nod and her tiny frame immediately relaxed. I smiled and rubbed her upper arm comfortingly a couple of times before nodding at Riley to take over and stepping away.

Before we reached the door Connor caught up to us and we all walked through the doors together for the last time. I had really enjoyed spending the last year with this great group of kids. I was so grateful that they took me in and let me be part of their circle of friends. The gift of their friendship really did allow me to truly experience high school and for the rest of my life I would always remember the fun times we shared.

We walked onto the stage and proceeded through the line to collect our maroon gowns and hats with the little maroon and gold tassels hanging from them. I was also excited to discover that my grade point average made me eligible to wear a gold honor stole during the ceremony.

After we had all collected our supplies and were dressed we were arranged in rows by alphabetical order in the auditorium seats for our class picture. I was right in next to Connor and behind Riley and Lucas. The first was a nice pose where were all supposed to smile and the second was a crazy shot where we all got to be silly. For the crazy shot I leaned forward with my arm around each twins shoulder with my head between theirs as they each placed a kiss on one of my cheeks while Connor stood next to me making bunny ears over my head.

After the pictures we all laughed and talked as we waited to be directed to move into the hallway for the processional march. I was grateful to be sitting near some of my friends at least; it made all the waiting much more bearable. Finally after what seemed like an eternity of sitting around in the uncomfortable and unflattering robes, we were told to stand and walk in our lines toward the gymnasium.

As we approached the big double doors the sound of the marching band's rendition of Pomp and Circumstance could be heard echoing out into the commons area and suddenly I began to feel the prickling feeling of tears beginning to well in my eyes. It wasn't that I loved high school or was even going to miss it in and of itself, but I knew I would miss my friends, and it was just one more example of how my life was changing so very rapidly. Everything I had ever known was about to change so completely in such a small amount of time. I turned eighteen, I married Seth in a very emotionally binding way, I was about to effectively close the door on my childhood by walking across a stage and accepting a diploma, in a little over a month I was going to officially marry Seth and legally change my name, and then in the not so distant future I would be leaving my family to go off to college and then put down roots with my husband apart from them. The sounds of the notes echoing off the cinder block walls of the cavernous room seemed to embody every major event changing my life in one bittersweet melody.

I took a deep breath willing my tears not to fall for fear that certain family members would take them the wrong way and managed to produce a smile just as I walked through the doors and under the arch to make my way toward my seat. The gym was stuffed full of people on the bleachers and the many chairs that spread out at angles from our seats that lined the front of the stage and took up three quarters of the basketball court.

I stood in front of my chair and scanned the crowds trying to find my family and finally spotted them in an ideal position halfway up the bleachers to the left side of the stage at the perfect angle to video tape me in my seat and also get a good angle for when I walked across the stage. I rolled my eyes and laughed as I returned their enthusiastic waves from their seats. They all looked so excited and I couldn't help but laugh at how many of these they had to attend over the years and how boring it must be for them…and yet there they were cheering for me like I was about to win an Olympic gold medal or something. I nudged Connor and pointed them out in the stands and he smiled and waved for the camera. I looked back to see most of the students had filtered in and then looked back up to see Seth beaming down at me. I looked at him blowing him a kiss which he pretended to catch and place on his cheek before blowing one back to me and I did the same. Connor laughed at our general cheesiness, but I didn't care.

A few moments later the principal went to stand at the lectern and entire student body sat together as we had practiced Thursday morning. The typical traditional ceremonial events began and I tried to focus and maintain attention as the band played a sad tune and the chorus sang a tear jerking song about the future, the valedictorian gave his speech and the keynote speaker soon followed. It almost seemed like a big hazy blur as we went from one part to the other and before I knew it, we had come to the point where we had to walk across the stage and accept our diplomas from the principal. As we had tirelessly practiced each row stood in unison when the usher would come to our row and make our way across the stage all sitting once the last person was in place and the usher instructed for us to do so.

I watched with a slightly teary smile as my friends crossed the stage one by one. First Leighton with a wide smile and a fist pump, then Lucas and Riley…Lucas actually kissed the vice principal, Mrs. Thomason, on the cheek and Riley took a camera on stage and put his arm around the principal holding it out in front of them to take a picture.

As Riley walked off the stage the usher indicated for our row to rise and I stood with a slight wobble thanks to a combination of my nerves and the perilously high heels Alice squeezed me into. Connor reached out and stabilized me and I whispered a thank you over my shoulder to him. My family was seated directly across from where I was standing waiting to climb the stairs and cross the floor. I looked over and they all were beaming with pride. I took in a deep breath willing myself once more not to let the tears fall and smiled at them and then watched my feet carefully as I climbed the steps to wait for the person ahead of me to cross the stage.

The principal's voice echoed in the room as he said, "Angelina Cullen." I began walking toward the center of the stage and I was met with the deafening cheers of my family and friends. I looked out and smiled at them just before I reached the principal and took his hand to shake as he handed me the diploma.

"Good Job Miss Cullen, it's been an honor." He said quietly under his breath as he locked eyes with me.

"Thank you, sir." I answered quietly and walked toward the far side of the stage holding my diploma out for my family to see and smiling while pointing to it. They all laughed and then I returned my attention to the stairs I was descending as I heard the principal say, "Connor Cusak."

I returned to my row and waited for the rest of the students to return and carefully wiped the tear that despite my efforts to will it away decided to fall anyway. Connor joined me and threw an arm around my shoulder in a friendly hug and smiled at me.

"So did he say it was an honor to you too?"

I laughed, "Yeah, I'm sure he says that to everyone. I thought it was nice though. He didn't really have to say anything."

Connor shrugged. "I guess. So how do you feel Miss graduate?"

"Good…you?"

"Good. So, are you ready for the whole wedding thing next month?"

"Yep, I'm really excited!" I could feel the wide smile on my face as I answered him and then I looked past him at my family and saw they were all smiling having heard all of the conversation we had just shared. I looked at Seth and he mouthed _I love you!_ I mouthed it back just as the usher indicated for us to sit.

We sat and watched the remainder of the one hundred and twenty students cross the stage and receive their diplomas. We took our turn to cheer for the rest of our friends and then at the end we all beamed as they told us to move our tassels and we were officially graduates. We all laughed and cheered as we tossed our hats in the air and then scrambled to catch them again. Connor, Lucas, and Riley all hugged me as we waited for our turn to march out.

I stepped through the double doors into the commons area where we were to wait for our families after the ceremony and only made it two steps before a pair of warm strong arms grabbed me and pulled me aside into a warm embrace as a pair of warm familiar lips crashed into mine. Seth kissed me for a long time before finally pulling back to catch our breath.

"I love you Angel! Congratulations. I'm so proud of you!"

I laughed, "Yeah, because NOBODY in this family has _ever_ graduated high school before!" He laughed and hugged me again.

"Well they might have graduated, but this is special because _you_ did it. It wasn't easy for you, but you made it through all twelve years with all the burdens and difficulties, and the last two you even managed to do on your own…and while taking college courses. This is a wonderful accomplishment sweetheart. Enjoy it!"

I smiled and ran my fingers through his hair pulling him down into another kiss as my friends wandered over.

"Oh you two get a room!" Leighton joked before saying, "On second thought…" pulling Lucas into a kiss of their own. We all laughed and then Riley placed a sweet kiss on Malia's lips as he hugged her close and just at the moment Jenny walked up to Connor and they decided to join in on the fun.

Soon the commons area was filled with the commotion of hundreds of families all talking and laughing as my family made their way to us and insisted on taking MORE pictures of me with my friends and with family members. Finally we made our way back out to our cars and returned home where a cake and party were waiting for me. As usual they went over the top with decorations and graduation presents, but I sat and relished every second.

Before I knew it time had slipped away and it was time to go home and get to sleep. I had been invited to a graduation party at some open field in the country somewhere that the kids nicknamed the moon tower after watching the movie Dazed and Confused, but I had no desire to go. First of all, I'm not the raging kegger type, and secondly I wasn't about to push my luck after my little run in with the law the night before. Instead I chose to go home and climb into my nice cozy bed with my nice cozy husband and let him give me one last present before falling asleep in his warm and comforting arms.

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Author's Note: Pictures of the windmill farm near where I live are also on the album with the dress pictures. I just wanted to give you an idea how big those suckers are. To answer any questions you might have…yes my friends and I did all of those things at different points throughout our years of friendship, and no we never were arrested or even caught, although we were terrified we would be. Yes, I was that much of a goody two shoes that these were our big thrills! Okay openly laugh and mock me now if you must! Thanks for reading and please take time to review!

_**Featured Author: Dreamgirl1964 Dreamgirl has two stories for Twilight. The first one is a oneshot that seriously had me laughing so hard I cried. I love Seth, but it was still funny as heck: Seth Imprints On A Squirrel. It's exactly what the title says and it was so silly but also funny. Her other story I have yet to get caught up on Breaking Dawn: A Long Alternative Ending: **__**Ivory Haines is just a ordinary girl. Sort of. Wait until she finds out that she is Renesmee's only hope. Anyway if you get the opportunity go check her stories out…especially if you want a laugh at Seth's expense!**_


	24. Lessons and Confidence Boosters

**24. Lessons and Confidence Boosters**

After graduation Alice took full advantage of my copious amounts of free time. We had everything all set and ready to go and yet there always seemed to be something wedding related that still needed done. It was frustrating, but at the same time, I did demand that I be in on all aspects of the planning, with my desire for the wedding to be mine and Seth's and not anyone else's. There were two saving graces to my self-imposed purgatory…spending as much spare time as possible with Seth and my guitar lessons with Jasper.

I felt so bad for Jasper. I was a horrible student. Worse than horrible…I was abysmal. Even after two lessons a day for two weeks I couldn't seem to make the instrument release anything that resembled an actual tune. Every practice was a constant stream of discordant notes and annoyed growls emanating from me. It was so frustrating and yet still managed to be a welcome distraction from wedding mania.

"Jasper, I'm sorry. I don't know why I can't seem to make this darn thing play anything close to music. It's pathetic. Is it possible that I'm completely musically retarded or something?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Well you can sing like an angel," I rolled my eyes, "but you do seem to be having a particularly hard time with this. Most people can at least manage to progress between several basic cords after some rudimentary training. It's almost like your fingers are blatantly refusing to cooperate!"

I sighed and removed the guitar strap from my shoulder resisting the urge to lift it above my head and smash it into the ground repeatedly shattering it into a million tiny blue and white pieces. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea Jazz." I finally answered with a sigh.

He walked over to me placing his hands comfortingly on my shoulders and fortifying me with hope and determination. "Hey, don't give up so easily baby sister. You're a talented girl and I'm sure you'll catch on eventually. You know what I think is going on? I think you're too stressed out with the wedding only being two weeks away, upset because Seth has to go back to California tomorrow for four days, so close to the said wedding, and I think that maybe you are just trying too hard. You need to relax and just let your fingers do what feels natural. Don't worry for a minute about the chords or where you want your hands to go next. I'm going to leave you for a little bit and I just want you to play around and see what happens. Don't try to make yourself play a song, just let yourself play what your mind figures out by plucking my ear."

I took a deep breath and nodded taking a big drink of water before sliding the guitar strap back over my shoulder. Jasper smiled and nodded in approval before leaving the room. I could hear voices in the hallway outside of the bedroom he shared with Alice where we would practice and I overheard "so uptight, needs to loosen up." I shook my head and reached my left hand up to wrap around the fret board arching my fingers and attempting to push down the wires. My fingers were tender from the lessons and my guitar player calluses were just beginning to form, much to Alice and Rosalie's dismay.

I aligned my fingers and drew the pick across the strings making a solid G chord and then moved my fingers resulting in a sickening twang that reverberated out of the amp resulting in a growl from my chest. "Just relax Lina, this is supposed to be fun." I heard Jasper's voice float in calmly from the hallway accompanied by a wave of peace.

I sighed and reached up to grab the neck of the instrument again but instead of doing chords I started striking single notes and then eventually after memorizing a few of those, I added them together to make some nice chords. I did this for a little while before Jasper walked in smiling. "Much better! Much, much better! See Lina, you just needed to relax a bit. I think that will be all for tonight. We'll try this again tomorrow."

I smiled at him before removing the guitar and placing it gently in its stand before running over and hugging Jasper around the neck. "Thanks big brother!"

He smiled back placing a sweet kiss on my cheek, "No problem baby sister!"

I was practically skipping as I made my way back over to our house, forgetting for the briefest of moments that Seth was leaving in the morning. I bounced in the front door and up to the bedroom freezing when I saw him carefully folding and placing his clothes in his suitcase for the trip. He smiled when he saw me bounce in and then I watched his face morph into a frown in reaction to my smile dropping upon realizing he was leaving me again soon. He walked across the room pulling me into a warm hug. This was the first time he had left me since we had been 'married' and I hated that he had to leave so close to our actual wedding ceremony.

He sighed as he ran his fingers through my hair. "I know what the long face is all about, but could you tell me what had you so happy before the sad eyes chased the sparkle away?"

I took in a deep breath letting it out slowly. After the reminder that Seth was leaving in ten short hours I wasn't all that impressed with my accomplishment anymore. "I just had a good lesson with Jasper …he let me cut loose and do my own thing and I actually managed to make a few chord progressions on my own just by touch."

He shot me a wide grin with a twinkle in his eyes, "That's great Angel. I'm proud of you."

I scoffed, "Yeah, you should be _so proud_ that after fourteen lessons I finally learned to make a chord progression!" I chuckled darkly, "At this rate I'll be able to play Mary Had a Little Lamb by the time I'm thirty!"

He laughed a little shaking his head before grabbing my hand and leading me to sit by is suitcase as he continued to pack, stopping occasionally to kiss the top of my head.

"Do you really have to go?" I whined for the tenth time since waking up.

He took in a deep breath before pulling me up into a warm hug. "Yes baby, but it's a good thing. I go now and then I'm completely free for the next month to help you with the last week before the wedding, and then I get you to myself for nearly three whole weeks for our honeymoon. Four days now is totally worth not having to deal with anything to do with work for the next month and getting you all to myself."

He lightly began to nibble my earlobe and kiss across my jaw before trailing a few feather light kisses down my neck. Instead of laughing as I normally would I just sighed with a crooked grin on my lips and Seth's face jerked up to mine with his left eyebrow arched in question. I responded by leaning forward placing a few open mouth kisses on his neck and collarbone.

Before long his packing was long forgotten as the suitcase was knocked to the floor. "Just a reminder of what you need to be rushing back to," I whispered in his ear before taking the lead and claiming him as mine. Afterward we lay together on the bed gasping to catch our breath as I rolled over to look at him with a devious smile. "Oh and by the way, be sure to let me know when your flight is about to take off and when you land. I have a special surprise planned for you and trust me; you don't want to ruin it!" He gave me his scout's honor that he would be most certain to inform me of when his plane took off and landed and any itinerary changes along the way. A few defeated sighs later we finally pulled ourselves out of bed and worked together to refold the clothes that were now strewn across the floor when we pushed the suitcase off of the bed in our haste and adding the last of the items that he needed for his trip before curling up together in our sheets to enjoy the last night in each other's arms before a four day separation.

The four days Seth were gone were long and frustrating, but also quite productive. I managed to give Alice enough focused attention to get her to promise to give me two full days rest when Seth returned and managed to improve quite a deal during my lessons with Jasper. I counted it as a good sign that the rest of the family didn't vacate the house during my lessons anymore and I cheered as though I just won the lottery when I managed to play my first beginning level song. Seth and I texted and talked on the phone constantly and I was extremely excited for my plans to surprise Seth upon his return…so much so that I chased Edward and Bella off two whole days sooner than planned for their extended weekend camping trip.

The morning of Seth's return I was both nervous and excited for what I had planned. I got to work early setting up the music on the CD player and getting the food prepared so that I could slide it in at the right time and it would be ready to take out of the oven just in time to feed it to Seth. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest when I got the text from Seth saying that the plane was just about to take off. I knew I had seven hours before his flight would arrive in Clarksburg and then it would take him about half an hour to drive home. It seemed like far too long to have to wait. I set about cleaning up the house and finding some random things to keep me occupied. I ran over to the main house for a guitar lesson with Jasper around noon. After which Alice helped me do my hair and makeup.

I was almost to the front door of our house when I got the text message saying that Seth's plane had just landed in Clarksburg and I had less than an hour to go. I grabbed the lasagna out of the fridge throwing it quickly into the oven and looking over to make sure that the table was truly ready and grabbing a bottle of the wine we were using for our wedding toast and putting it on ice. The entire month of January was wine of the day month. I was forced to taste a tiny bit of a different wine each day ranging from disgusting dry wines to sweet and fruity wines and fell in love with the Asti that we had chosen to use for the big toasts at the reception. I was always extra careful and never drank more than one glass.

After being sure that everything was ready downstairs and starting the fire in the hearth I ran upstairs to slide into the sultry blue backless gown that Alice had used to trick me into happily attending prom in the dress that I ended up wearing, along with thigh high stockings attached to the necessary garter belt and perilously sexy high heels with ribbons crisscrossing my ankles and tying halfway up my calf. I stood in front of the mirror examining the results and went through a variety of emotions ranging from shock to embarrassment, and finally settling on confident determination. This was my husband, and I knew without any doubt that he was really going to love the dress and everything I had lined up for the evening.

I looked at the clock and squeaked when I saw I only had a few more minutes to spare and rushed down the stairs as fast as I dared in the six inch tall death traps I had willingly put myself into, tapping quickly across the room to start the CD and rushing over to the island countertop that separated the kitchen and living room hopping up on the counter. I crossed my legs, prominently on display through the long slit that rose up to mid thigh…just low enough not to reveal the tops of my hosiery and allowing the material of the dress to hang on either side. I rested my hands on the counter top on either side of my body leaving my back slightly arched anxiously awaiting the sound of Seth's car.

I wasn't disappointed. Within two minutes of successfully arranging myself on the counter I heard the quiet whine of Seth's Camry pull up to the front of the house and shortly after the opening and closing of the door and trunk met my ears. Mere seconds later, I hitched my breath as I heard the rattle of the doorknob just before it swung open. Seth stood in the doorway, mouth agape and eyes wide as he stared at me forgetting to close the door. I met him with a seductive crooked smile and winked at him resulting in him dropping his suitcase where he stood, reaching his hand to quickly slam the door behind him and crossing the room in two long strides to stand right in front of me immediately crashing his lips into mine as his right hand reached into my hair and his left rubbed appreciatively from my knee to the top of the slit and back again.

A few minutes and a pair of eagerly roving hands later we broke apart to catch our breath and I chuckled. "I told Alice that we never would have made it to prom if I had tried to wear this dress."

"THIS is the dress she tried to talk you into first? No wonder you threw the fit you did. I'm glad she got it though because…wow…you look so incredibly sexy."

He shivered a bit from his place in front of me and I reflexively bit my lip in reaction with a small smile playing on my lips. I saw the desire darken his eyes even more as a small growl escaped his throat and he pulled me into another passionate kiss. I had to admit I was getting pretty lost in it too and the meal was about a millisecond away from being forgotten when the oven timer began to buzz.

Seth pulled away and looked at me questioningly. "Time for supper!" I cheered loudly, "Um…could you help me down please and then go sit at the table?"

He laughed gently placing his hands on my hips as he lowered me gracefully to the floor and appeared shocked that I reached it so quickly. "Six inch heels," I whispered with a smile as I gazed directly into his eyes without having to look up, now only being one inch shorter that he was. I took his hand and led him to the table pushing him down into his chair as his hand grazed over my backside. I chuckled before turning to the stove making sure to add a little extra swagger in my steps knowing full well he was watching every move I made. I slid on the oven mitts and bent down giving him a nice unobstructed view as I pulled the lasagna out of the oven and sat it on top of the stove before turning and sauntering over in front of Seth to open the wine and pour a glass for each of us while the lasagna cooled.

Neither of us ate much, spending most of the meal ogling each other. Seth stared at me the entire time with desire and lust glowing in his eyes, but to his credit, he didn't make any new moves until I gave him the say so. I was just as bad, I couldn't take my eyes away from his, feeling a fire building in my stomach with every second his intense gaze stayed on me.

Fifteen minutes into the meal I asked if he was full and he said he couldn't eat another bite of lasagna. I stood in front of him stretching my hand out to him, which he took willingly, and led him to the center of our living room in front of the fire. I reached out taking his hands and placing them on my hips before moving my hands up his arms to find their home in his hair. We danced dangerously close and getting closer and closer with each song, as we kissed letting our hands roam over the bodies that we each knew so well. We spent the rest of the night in the living room in front of the fireplace, waking up the next morning tangled together on the couch with the chenille throw blankets from the back precariously tossed across our bodies.

As agreed Alice gave us the next day off of all wedding plans and I spent the entire day with Seth. It was nice to have a day all to ourselves for once and I found myself getting even more excited for our extended honeymoon.

In typical Cullen fashion everyone was keeping our destination a secret, which was annoying the heck out of me. Alice of course had already volunteered to pack for me and took the event as an opportunity to purchase a whole new honeymoon appropriate wardrobe. I was sure at least a quarter of the items she chose would be things I wouldn't be willing to wear, so I cheated and gave Seth a pile of clothes asking him to pack with his things as a back up just in case. He laughed, but remembering some of the events of by seventeenth birthday, agreed.

The last week was filled with total and utter insanity. If it had just been left up to me, it would have been fine, but miss perfectionist pixie refused to let things be. Finally I told her that the over planning was ruining the day for me and if it wasn't something that would result in a direct change in the ceremony or reception then she could take care of it without my consultation. Instantaneously my life became far more bearable and I once again had free time with Seth and time for lessons with Jasper.

The Wednesday before the wedding I was sitting once again in Jasper and Alice's room with my guitar slung around my neck frowning in my attempt to play a level two song from the lesson book. Jasper kept encouraging me and I kept getting more and more frustrated with myself. I finally pulled it off with a sigh laying it on the bed and rolling my neck in an attempt to loosen the tightened muscles.

"You're trying too hard again Lina. Remember how much easier it was when you let go last week? Just try to do that again."

"Ugh, I wish I were able to use my ability to pull it all from you. At least then it would allow me to do something useful," I whined and Jasper chuckled. "While I'm at it, it would be nice if it would allow me to pull a full understanding of advanced mathematics from Edward too," I joked and Jasper laughed even louder.

"I bet you have the potential to do it if you really focused. I mean that's why you can hear so well and have the reflexes you do…playing the guitar isn't all that different. Why don't you try?"

I shook my head nervously; I still hadn't been able to intentionally draw anything except a few emotions from Jasper and share emotions back and forth with Seth and Sarina.

"What does trying hurt Lina? If you don't try then you'll never develop your ability beyond where it is now. You should try."

I sighed before reaching out to hold Jasper's hand feeling utterly ridiculous. He laughed, "You have to take it seriously or you definitely won't accomplish it."

"I just feel stupid; this is never going to work! Besides, it took years and years for me to eventually pull something tangible like that from you guys."

"Oh just stop whining and try! I swear you sound like you're three years old today!"

I laughed and closed my eyes concentrating on the guitar and the movements needed to play trying in vain to think of something that would allow my body to understand what it needed to do. After five minutes I began to giggle. I tried to stop, to get serious, but I just couldn't. Before long I was doubled over in hysterical laughter with tears running down my cheeks. Jasper stood in front of me shaking his head, but the smile on his face told me that he was enjoying my giggle fest even if it was counter productive. I finally pulled it together and he picked up my guitar and slid it over my head again.

I nervously lifted my hands to the neck of the instrument and began to strum wondering if I would miraculously be able to play something decent, only to be met with a tune that was nearly as bad a when I first started learning. I began to laugh again shaking my head.

"I knew it wouldn't work."

Jasper shook his head again, "If you believe it won't work then it won't. I'm going to go downstairs and I want you to do the free association playing again."

I nodded and wrapped my hand around the guitar again strumming absent-mindedly playing random notes when I started to hear some notes that I recognized from one of my favorite guitar riffs. I shrugged and began to play with the progression of notes and before long I was very, very slowly playing the whole beginning of the riff. I lifted my head and smiled as I tried again playing it a little faster at the same moment that Jasper and Edward came running in looking just as excited as me.

"Is that the beginning of Sweet Child O Mine?" Jasper asked incredulously and I nodded with the biggest grin ever plastered on my face.

"I think it worked Jazz! There's no way I could play this otherwise is there? I suck way too much for it not to be the ability!"

"Maybe or maybe you are now believing that your ability can do it, so you're not getting in your own way anymore." Edward commented from beside Jasper as his eyes focused on my fingers that sped a bit more with a smile.

"Unlikely," I commented back, "this is way too much of an improvement for it just to be that."

Edward sighed, "Angelina Cecelia, you are capable of far more than you really give yourself credit for. You talk yourself into believing you are incapable of many things that I bet you could do if you just tried."

I stopped my fingers opening my mouth to argue but he interrupted, "I hear your thoughts Lina, I know how your mind works."

I sighed looking down at the guitar in my hands as I placed my fingers back on the frets and began picking at the strings again. I was still nowhere near as fast as Slash, but I was definitely improving.

"Close your eyes and feel the music Lina," Jasper said from across the room picking up his own guitar. "Just let go."

I closed my eyes and felt my fingers run across the cold tight strings and I could hear the tempo of the song in my head, the way the riff was supposed to sound and I began to manipulate the strings with my hands and suddenly the sounds in the air matched the sounds in my head. I felt the smile stretch across my face and I heard Edward pull out his phone dialing and talking, but I kept playing feeling excited that I was actually playing something well and a song that I've always loved and wished I could play. Jasper eventually joined in when the second electric guitar was supposed to join in and we continued to play. I had watched the video of the song so many times watching Slash's fingers so closely wondering if I could ever replicate the motions that I had his parts of the song more or less memorized.

By the time we got to the part where Axel Rose would begin singing I heard Seth run into the room with the rest of my family following closely behind. I opened my eyes and smiled at him.

"I'm doing it baby! I'm really doing it!! I can't believe it!" He smiled and they all watched in awe. Then I hit the insane solo at the middle of the song and it all fell apart. A frown marred my face for a second and then slowly turned into a smile.

"I think you have your answer now," Edward answered.

"Answer to what?" Seth asked.

"She thought that she was only capable of this due to her ability, but I argued that it was possible that it was more the fact that she didn't believe she could do it. She tried to use her ability with Jasper and shortly after discovered she could play the first part of the song, but if it were truly just her ability then she would have been able to do the whole song from beginning to end because Jasper can. She couldn't manage the middle section yet, because it was her own capabilities."

"Or," I interrupted, "it was only partially my ability. There's no way I could even do that much on my own yet…but I'm not complaining because that was awesome!" I tossed my guitar on the bed and ran over to Jasper. "Thank you so much Jazz!"

He laughed and hugged me back before I let go and ran jumping into Seth's arms. "I did it baby! I can't believe I did it!"

"I saw Angel, it was amazing! Go try again. I want to see from the beginning."

I smiled as he sat me down and ran back over to the bed grabbing my guitar and hastily sliding it over my shoulder. Knowing now that I was capable, I closed my eyes listening to the tempo in my head a second before sliding into the riff at full speed, the smile once again invading my face as I opened my eyes and locking them with Seth's. He was beaming from across the room looking so proud. Eventually my eyes scanned to my other family members who all had matching looks and I sighed as I continued to play. I reached the solo and managed to get the first few notes out before it fell completely apart and I frowned again, but was still pleased I got a bit further.

"Give it a month or two and you'll be able to play it all I bet," Jasper said from beside me as he reached a supportive arm around my shoulder. I smiled up at him and after trying a few other songs that I didn't actually do quite as well with we decided to end my lesson for the day. My arms were a bit sore, but I was still walking on a cloud.

Edward met me again downstairs. "See, it was mostly you. You studied the video, you memorized the notes, you put in the work and look what you accomplished and the songs that you hadn't put that kind of time in you weren't able to master yet…but eventually you will. I'm so proud of you Lina." He pulled me into an enthusiastic hug that was a wee bit too tight and then grimaced and apologized when he registered that fact in my thoughts. I smiled up at him kissing him on the cheek before bidding my family a good night and making my way back home.

I walked in to find Seth waiting with a candlelight dinner on the table. "What's all this?"

He walked over to me pulling me into a warm embrace as he kissed me sweetly, "This is a celebration dinner. I'm so proud of you Angel. I knew you could do it!"

I laughed placing another kiss on his lips before allowing him to lead me over to the table where he pulled out my chair and served me roast chicken.

We sat and talked the rest of the evening before finally making our way up to bed, determined to enjoy our last night in the same bed. Our out of town guests were to begin arriving Thursday morning resulting in us surrendering our room to Leah and Danny for the duration of their stay. Seth was going to be in the basement with his single friends from La Push while their girlfriends were staying in our guest room in the basement. The rest of the La Push guests were staying at Jake and Nessie's while Charlie and Sue would stay at the main house along with the Denali clan and a few other vampire guests. I was also going to be back in the main house sharing a room with my sisters, although I would be the only one sleeping there.

Since our wedding wasn't going to be until later in the evening on Saturday the fourth with the reception following expected to last into the early hours of the next day, all of the human guests would need to get a good night's sleep before the big day, thus Friday morning would be the beginning of the bachelor and bachelorette parties that Seth and I insisted we didn't want, but were still being forced to have. I was entirely frightened by what my devious sisters had planned, choosing instead to hide from the inevitable future for as long as humanly possible. I cuddled up in Seth's arms looking forward to the chaos of the wedding planning being over and the moment when I would walk toward him and join him in front of the minister to be official joined together as man and wife.

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Author's Note: Hey guys. So I'm having a little trouble figuring out what should happen at the bachelorette party…so share your suggestions and maybe I can use them. I'm not promising anything, but I'm kind of stuck and your suggestions may help me get past my indecision. My biggest problem is she's underage…so no typical bar scenes would work. I have an idea, but it's too lame to be realistic with Alice in on the planning…so if you have any good ideas then by all means share because I've written two different versions of the party and have hated both of them. I need your help. I'm also going to place a link to the song on my profile. I would like to believe that most people have heard the song Sweet Child O Mine...but some of you all are pretty young and I do have people reading from other countries, so you never know...and I love that song! Seriously, I would love to learn to play for real just to be able to play that song...the closest I will probably ever get is playing it on Guitar Hero, and even then I haven't been able to play it above medium difficulty! :(

There is a Seth POV that will be up in my extras posting in the next couple of days of this chapter....well of the blue dress part of the chapter anyway...lemon warning, but if you read them then keep your eyes peeled.

**_I don't have a featured author this chapter because to be honest I haven't had the time to search through any more of your profiles to find out who has stories and who doesn't…but just know I appreciate you all! You guys are awesome readers and reviewers and I cherish each of your reviews!!! Anxiously awaiting your awesome ideas guys…if you have anything in mind then please share!!!_**


	25. Mama Bears, Brother Bears, & Peach Pits

**_Author's Note: Inspiration hit in the shower yesterday and it all fell into place and a few hour later with, one bedtime routine kid break, it was done and my wonderful Beta, Mel, got it back to me this morning. Sadly enough it just goes to show how much of a dork I really am, but I really do feel like what I came up with would be Seth and Linaish if you know what I mean. I'm pretty happy with it so I guess that's what's important. :D Hope you enjoy too. Mel also got the SPOV of 24 back to me and I'll be posting it today too. Thanks for reading guys and let me know what you think!_**

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25. Mama Bears, Brother Bears, & Peach Pits

I sat straight up in my old bed at the main house. My heart was pounding and the tears were flowing and the anger was building. Why did these dreams always have to come and mess up some of the happiest days of my life? They always seemed to pick some of the most inopportune moments to haunt me. I closed my eyes and collapsed back on my pillow throwing my arms over my eyes at the same moment that Jasper and Edward flew through the door and were standing at the end of my bed asking if I was okay.

I took a deep breath letting loose a mirthless chuckle. "Yes boys, I'm okay…another freaking nightmare is all. I wonder if it has to do with being near the pack kids again? The last time I had a dream like that one was in La Push. Man, this will get interesting if we really do end up settling there later on!"

"What happened?" Jasper asked curious if any new information had been revealed. I rubbed my face and sat back up rolling my head trying to get the screaming muscles of my neck to relax. I stood my pillow against the headboard and scooted back to lean against it and my brothers both sat at the end of the bed patting my leg comfortingly. I felt a sense of calm and smiled at Jasper.

"Well, I was at the school playground in La Push, the same one I had dreamed about when we were in Washington before I had seen the school. There were children playing all around me as I watched."

I stopped and gasped a minute as the other details of the dream started coming back. A wide smile filled my face, "Oh my…I…I was watching a little boy play with his friends…MY little boy," tears filled my eyes as the memory of the dream washed over me.

_"Momma, can we go play on the jungle gym…please, please pretty please?" He was staring up at me with sparkling green puppy dog eyes set in his adorable little tan face._

_"Sure baby, just no hanging upside down from the top bars and no jumping off the top."_

"_Okay Momma, we won't, thank you!" He shot me a big smile that was the exact replica of Seth's and my heart melted. I watched him turn and run off to play with two other boys when the beautiful baby girl on my hip began to squirm and squeal flailing her tiny little hands in the air._

"_Oh, you want to go play with your big bubby so bad don't you? Well don't worry baby girl, someday you'll be keeping up with the big kids no problem!" I gazed down into the bright green eyes of my baby girl and she smiled a wide toothless smile at me. She had a darker skin tone than me, but much lighter than her father's. She reached up and grabbed a chunk of hair and pulled it to her mouth babbling happily and I smiled gently pulling the strands out of her hand before stretching down to kiss the top of her sweet little head. _

"And a baby girl. They were beautiful!" I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face as the tears streamed down my cheeks. Edward moved to sit beside me, having observed the memory of my dream with me. "Yes, they were." He smiled and kissed my head and they both let me sit and revel in the bright portion of my dreams. I was beginning to learn more and more about my dreams and I knew this was a glimpse into my future. When I had my dreams, there were always parts that felt more tangible than others, and those parts were the things that Eleazar and Edward agreed were probably the more prophetic portions of my dreams…and I could feel in my heart and in my soul that these children were not merely figments of my imagination or projections of my wishes, these were my babies which made the next emotion to well up within me even more vehement.

I began to growl as I remembered the next part of my dream; the mama bear instincts to protect the children that I had yet to bear were already kicking in as the shadows of my nightmares once again encroached on my happy little life.

_They came out of nowhere; a group of twelve robed guard members circled the playground. I knew that the pack would smell them and come running soon, but before they could come, each vamp took a child from the playground and me as I screamed for them to let the children go, my baby wailing on my hip and my little boy screaming and kicking trying to get out of the arms of his clocked captor. The panic began to rise in my throat and then I felt a cold hand on each of my arms as I was picked up and carried between two guards at vampire speed over the hill and into the darkness of the forest beyond. _

_Moments later I was being set back on my feet in front of the rest of the children, all still cowering and crying for their parents. I wanted so bad to massacre the demons that were endangering our lives, but first I knew I had to calm the children. The children all ran to me, clinging to my legs in terror as more cloaked figures began to crowd around us. _

_I looked toward the closing ring of vampires, "I don't know what you want, but unless you want the cries of these children to draw the pack to our location more quickly, you'll step back and give me a moment to calm them down."_

_They stopped their progression and took a few steps back giving us our space. I knelt down to the children and my son leaned forward and wrapped his arms around my neck burying his tear stained face in the crook. I reached my arm around him and held him close, trying to calm the baby clinging to the other side of my torso. All of these children knew me and trusted me so I looked them all in the eyes._

"_Listen to me children; we're all going to be alright. Please just calm down. Let's sing a song to help us calm down." I released a wave of calm around them as Jasper had taught me as I started them singing the only song I could think of at that moment, Silent Night. My mind was at a total loss, thinking ten miles an hour as to how we would ever manage to get out of this situation and what in the world the Volturi wanted with a handful of small Quileute children, so it was the only thing I could think to do and the only song that was peaceful that would come to mind. The children's voices quivered as they attempted to sing the soft tune. Finally a bit of the edge was removed from their tiny bodies and I sent out waves of exhaustion and their little mouths began to yawn and their eyes began to fall closed and a few moments later they had all curled up on the ground and were asleep. _

_It was against every instinct in my body to lay my sleeping son and baby girl down on that ground and allow them out of my embrace, but I began to pick up the vibes from the minds of some of the ones guarding us that they were only interested in taking me and the two oldest children in the group who had been there watching their younger siblings. They were nearing puberty and would soon start phasing._

"_I will go with you if you give me your word that these children will not be harmed. You touch even the tiniest hair on their head and I will find a way to see you all burn!"_

_They laughed at my warning, unaware of exactly who they were dealing with. One cloaked figure stepped forward and stood a few feet in front of me, the sound of amusement still in his voice, "Trust me, the last thing we would want to do is partake of the blood of these Halflings. Your threats mean nothing to us, but in the interest of fair play, we will leave them behind. The shape shifters are fast on our trail and we would rather vacate before they arrive. The children will be found very soon." I nodded and felt the tears streak my cheeks as I dropped to my hands and knees and placed a kiss on each of my children's cheeks. "Always know, no matter what that your Mommy loves you. Always and Forever."_

_I stood up and the shadows approached the group picking up the two oldest children before approaching me and leading me beyond the clearing and deeper into the woods. Two hands once again lifted my feet from the ground and seconds later we were at the shore on a boat floating out to sea just as the piercing howl of a dozen pack members filled the air. _

_My dream became dark and then when light returned I was standing in a large field…I recognized it as the field Jake and Nessie had taken me to on my first visit to Washington where the last great standoff between my family and Volturi took place. I was pushed and shoved forward to stand in front of the vanguard of the cloaked figures the major characters surrounding me just as they had in my first nightmare nearly two years ago. I now understood things so much more. Tears fell from my eyes as I saw the terror-stricken faces of my family and then my gaze locked onto my husband, my Seth, and I now knew that the little boy and the baby in pink in his arms were OUR children. _

_My heart began to pound as my children began to reach for me and cry and my field of vision blurred as the tears began to well in my eyes. I had to save them; they were going to die if I didn't do something…anything. I had a new resolve, far more substantial than ever before. The first time I had this dream I wanted to save my family, my parents, my siblings, my friends, but now I didn't just want to save them, as a mother I HAD to save them no matter the cost. I told them all I loved them and I was so sorry and then something was suddenly in my hands and I was preparing to attack. My weak and ineffective human reflexes and weapons would be of no match to the vampires and yet I had this strange confidence that I would succeed. I tensed my muscles and planned my first strike when I woke up and sat up in bed._

I did my best to explain my dream to Jasper knowing that Edward had absorbed the whole thing as the memories had returned. They both frowned and I could tell they were worried about whatever I was going to try to do against the Volturi knowing I would be completely useless against them.

"Honestly, besides the Volturi coming and my children, I really don't know what's real and what's not. I do know one thing; I understand your protective streaks now. They're not even born yet and I still had such rage and fury rolling through me at the idea of anyone causing them any harm. I almost felt as though I could have ripped the guard apart with my bear hands."

Edward laughed and kissed my head. "Maybe you can cut us all a little slack now that you understand a bit more."

I laughed, "Maybe, but probably not likely!" They both laughed and we talked a bit more before they left me to go down and inform the others of what had happened.

My muscles complained as I stretched and tried to work out the kinks from sleeping in a bed my body was no long accustomed to and then waking up so suddenly with the nightmare. I had just slid to the side of the bed with my feet touching the cold hardwood floor when Alice came bounding in talking at top speed shooting me orders left and right as she ordered me to get showered and dressed in the outfit she was laying out on the bed for me before shoving me through the doorway toward the bathroom.

Next thing I knew I was standing in front of the long vanity staring at my half open eyelids and groaning at my exhaustion. I hadn't slept well to begin with, now used to curling up with Seth every night, the lack of his heat, regardless of how overwhelming it was in these summer months, was unsettling…and then having the nightmare on top of it all, it ended up being a very long and less than restful night. I started the shower allowing the water to heat until the steam began to billow over the edge of the frosted glass door. I stepped in under the scalding water and groaned in appreciation as it beat at the tense muscles in my neck and shoulders, easing away the tension. I sighed and began to shampoo my hair as my mind began to wander over the last couple of years.

It was almost two years today, standing in this very shower that I was working up the courage to ask my family about allowing me to go to my last two years of high school alone. It seemed so funny now that my high school career was behind me how nervous and how big of a deal it had been and how smoothly it had actually managed to turn out. I smiled as I thought of my Seth and how amazingly wonderful he was. In nearly thirty-eight hours I was going to officially be his wife. I couldn't resist a little squeal as I rinsed my hair and began applying the conditioner.

I ran my fingers absentmindedly through my hair helping the conditioner spread from root to tip as my mind wandered over other things. I thought back to my dream and the two beautiful faces that were a bit of me and a bit of Seth combined into two perfect reflections of our love. The thought of ever leaving them in any way made my chest tighten and my heart ache. I thought of all of the things that I will miss if my nightmares come to pass and the Volturi steal me away from them. I knew they would have Seth and the rest of the family on both sides to be there for them, but they would always miss me being there for the big events, just like I miss Renee and Phil. I wouldn't trade the family that raised me for anything in the world, but sometimes I feel bad at all the things that the people who created me missed out on and I knew that my own children would eventually feel the same way as well. I took a deep breath and tried to clear my head of the negatives and look forward to the positives. Someday I would have babies, beautiful babies, with the man I loved, the man that I would officially make mine forever tomorrow. I smiled and sighed as focused on Seth and how amazingly lucky I was to have him in my life.

After a nice long thirty minutes under the hot stream of relaxing hydration, I finally snapped off the taps and stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed and much more relaxed. This was the day before my wedding and I knew I had a long day ahead of me, but I had made up my mind a few days back that I was going to do my absolute best to sit back and enjoy it and just focus on the ultimate goal of the whole event, to marry Seth in a beautiful dress and to dance with him under the stars. The future, bright or dark was ahead of us, but there was nothing I could do about any of it now. For now, I needed to savor each and every happy and beautiful event in my life while I could. In the words of Scarlet O'Hara_, "__I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tommorrow_…_after all tomorrow is another day"…_or in my case maybe a month from now when I'm back home after my honeymoon…because then I can focus on what could possibly be done. I laughed at my cheesy little quote shaking my head and rolling my eyes before I rolled my neck one more time.

I took a deep cleansing breath as I ran my comb through my hair and brushed my teeth before walking back into my room and looking down at the outfit Alice had chosen for the day with a sigh. Before me lay a cute little pink sun dress with spaghetti straps and a gathered neckline with a cute pair of white sandals sitting on the floor next to my bed. "Thank. You. Alice." I mumbled under my breath with a smile. I laughed as I heard a "You're Welcome!" chime up from the floor below.

By the time I was in the dress Alice was upstairs pulling me back into the bathroom for a very uncharacteristically short round of Angelina Barbie. She dried my hair straight with a slight flip under at the bottom and then did a light dusting of mineral powder foundation some light blush and lip gloss and eye makeup and I was done. I stood there in shock absolutely loving the whole effect and yet suspicious of Alice doing something so minor for a bachelorette party.

It was frustrating that the whole day was being kept a secret from me. I was only aware of two things…the whole day was part of the girl's only experience and I wasn't allowed any contact with Seth for the entire day with the exception of the rehearsal following lunch before we all dispersed again to resume party activities. They even confiscated my cell phone so we couldn't text! Alice laughed when I accused her of cruel and unusual punishment. This all being so, I was now being lead downstairs into the unknown.

Alice led me down the staircase from the second floor and I walked in to find the entire downstairs decorated in my wedding colors, deep purple and a light lilac. Flowers adorned almost every flat space in the room over lilac colored cloth. The living room was cleared of all of the regular furniture with soft comfortable chairs in their places with all of the ladies invited to my wedding already seated and waiting for us.

I entered the room making my rounds to thank everyone for coming getting especially loud squeals in my ear from Leighton, Malia, and Jenny. Leighton and Malia had grown comfortable with my family and their kind over the past two years, but poor Jenny looked like she was ready to bolt out the front door at any second. Thankfully they already knew Leah, and she took them under her wing and introduced the three of them to the rest of the pack wives and girlfriends, so they were carefully surrounded by ladies that wouldn't set off their fight or flight instincts. I couldn't help but chuckle at the seating arrangements. Vampire guests on the north end of the room, humans on the south, and my sisters and other vampires more accustomed and tolerant to the wolf essence that the pack girls reeked of were seated in between the two extremes.

We sat and chatted for a while as the humans partook of the brunch served in the kitchen while the vamps took small amounts and shuffled them around their plates in order to blend in. I watched it all in awe as I saw the two completely separate parts of my world mesh into a single setting and actually manage to coexist. I had seen it within my own family unit with Jake and Seth ensconced and accepted into the lives of our family members, but never with individuals outside of our circle.

Pretty soon Alice drew everyone's attention and announced that the bridal shower portion of the day was to begin. I couldn't help the blush that filled my cheeks as I was suddenly aware that I was going to be opening presents from my siblings who were accustomed to being far more casual with the issue of sex than most in the presence of people that weren't much more than strangers to me and worse yet, my soon to be mother in law. The gifts were piled in front of me on the floor and I began the dangerous task of opening them.

Most of the presents were kind, thoughtful, and useful, but I couldn't help but open each one with the care and caution one would take opening a potential bomb. I was three quarters of the way through the massive pile when the first blush inducing present was opened. I cracked the lid and shut it immediately at the sight of fur…yes, red fur.

The ladies in the circle looked confused as Alice sighed and sauntered over to me. "Oh come on Lina, you had to know you'd get some lingerie. This one's from me and Jazzy…it's one of his favorites on me." She pulled out the sheer red negligee with the fur trimmed neckline and bottom hem and matching furry thong showing it to the room. I swear my face was darker red than the negligee. A few of the ladies giggled, a few commented how cute it was, and I looked over at my mother and Sue who both held polite smiles. I took a deep breath and told myself it was fine. We were getting married…lingerie was to be expected.

I opened the next box relieved to find that while it was lingerie, it was a beautiful and expensive looking white satin teddy with matching bikini underwear and robe. It was soft and sophisticated and when I looked at the card found that it was from my Mom. I smiled at her and thanked her and she smiled back with a nod.

After the conservative ensemble I made the mistake of being a little less cautious and as I lifted the lid of the next box. The box slid off my lap tossing the contents onto the floor and my eyes grew wide as I was face to face with a black leather bustier, a whip, and matching black heels. I quickly dropped to my knees and grabbed the offending items throwing them back in the box and sliding them behind me as most of the room chuckled nervously. I looked at a shocked and wide-eyed Sue and mother. I glanced over at Rosalie with a look of death knowing exactly where that outfit came from without needing to check the card. She smiled and shrugged innocently and I shook my head at her.

After the leather event, I was even more cautious than before, but to my great relief the rest of the presents were very conservative and benign. I ended the day with quite a few beautiful and tantalizing items of lingerie, some great perfumes and lotions, some great household items, and a set of super soft Egyptian cotton towels and matching bathrobes. There were only two presents left and they were wrapped rather suspiciously.

While most of the gifts of the day were carefully encased in beautiful and shimmery bridal papers, these were wrapped in plain black paper with no notes or identifying items of any kind. I picked the first of the two up with the most extreme caution imaginable and slowly peeled away the paper, relieved to find a nondescript white box, but as I tried to remove the lid of the box, it stubbornly refused to open. Finally with one last tug the lid popped open and into my lap fell massage oils, lubricant, handcuffs, a mask, and a vibrator with several more similar items remaining in the box. I squeaked hoping that nobody saw the items inside stuffing them back in and shoving the box next to the leather monstrosity behind me. Considering that the next box was covered in matching paper I turned away from the group to peel the paper away more discretely to find the Kama Sutra with a note…from Emmett.

Baby sister, Just a few fun toys and an instruction manual to teach you two kids a few new tricks. From the sound of things you guys are still sticking with the basics, hopefully this helps you kick it up a notch. Love ya, Brother Bear.

I instantly began choking on nothing but air as I looked at the book and read the note from my brother, simultaneously ready to kill him and also incredibly embarrassed that so much more of my sex life with Seth was known by my family than I ever cared to know. I quickly tossed the book into the pile with the others as Sue came up to check on me and ask if I was okay. I leaned and moved myself between her and the pile when she tried to see what had surprised me so a few times before Alice finally showed up at my side laughing at me and distracting Sue.

I turned to look at Rosalie and whispered loud enough that only the vampires could hear, "You and Emmett…dead….as a doornail…completely and totally dead." She smiled and rolled her eyes and the vampire half of the room broke out into laughter while the human side of the room looked on in confusion. I sighed and shook my head rolling my eyes before standing up and thanking everyone for their thoughtful gifts. We visited a bit longer and then cut into the cake adorned with various figurines depicting a bride dragging her groom to the altar, which of course earned a few laughs.

By noon the house was once again empty with the exception of my high school friends, my sisters, Leah, Mom and Sue. We were quickly rushed over to the house where the minister and the boys were all waiting to get going on the rehearsal. As soon as I saw Seth my chest began to tighten and I ran into his arms and he pulled me up to kiss me on the lips before setting me back down again.

"Oh Angel, you look so adorable!"

"Adorable? Babies are adorable…women about to be married don't want to be referred to as adorable by their fiancés."

"Oh, I apologize, what's a better descriptive word?"

"Beautiful, gorgeous, tantalizing, dazzling, I could go on if you'd like."

"He smiled down at me and kissed me on the lips. How's your day been so far my beautiful, gorgeous, tantalizing, dazzling, irresistible, precious, perfect soon to be officially wife?"

I giggled and smiled biting my lip as he beamed back down at me. I'm not sure how long we stayed like that before I heard the minister clear his throat behind us and we turned and blushed as we apologized.

"Oh, no need to apologize for being in love, young ones. If every couple to be married were as obviously in love and devoted as the two of you there wouldn't be any divorces, but I do have somewhere to be in an hour so we really do need to proceed."

We smiled at each other and he squeezed my shoulders a little tighter before we pulled apart and began organizing the rehearsal and running through everything a few times. The butterflies fluttering in my stomach as I walked towards him were relentless and I found myself looking at him in disbelief knowing that this really was happening. I mean, yeah, in our hearts and through our personal vows we were already married, but something about taking the steps toward him and making our declarations in front of such a large group of people tomorrow just made it all so much more real.

When we were done the minister left and I was given a few more minutes to spend with Seth before we would be separated not to see one another again until I walked toward him tomorrow evening in my gown. We kissed and hugged and kissed some more before Alice had to literally forcibly pull me away from him herding me into one of the caravan of cars that would take us to our next destination.

Twenty minutes after leaving my Seth standing watching us drive away with a sad look on his face, we pulled up in front of a very expensive and fancy looking spa. Everyone piled out and made our way into the building. Alice went immediately to the counter and announced that the bridal party had arrived and we were immediately shuffled off to various rooms for a variety of beauty treatments. While we humans were being treated to massages, facials, and body wraps, the vampire ladies were indulging in warm mud baths and sauna time thoroughly enjoying the exposure to heat. Three hours later thoroughly relaxed and showered we were all ushered into a large room set up with manipedi tubs and each of us were treated to manicures and pedicures while we chatted and gossiped. We humans got the full exfoliation and massage treatment while the vampires just got their nails painted as they sat and visited with the rest of us.

Sue and Mom were seated on the far side of the room and both engaged in enthusiastic conversation. I was forced to endure the longest of the treatments with Alice barking orders and ordering additional things to be done. Eventually Leighton, Malia, and Jenny wondered off to call their boyfriends and my sisters immediately ambushed me and we all began talking quietly enough that only my sisters could hear.

"So what was in the black presents Lina?" Nessie asked me with a devious look on her face.

"Ask Rose, her husband was the mastermind." I rolled my eyes.

"Hey! I got you the leather, but I had no idea Emmett did that."

"What did he do? What was in the packages that made you go all red like that?"

"I think I learned far more about Rose and Em than I ever wanted to know. Apparently they are way into the S&M stuff. Rose got me the leather bustier and whip and Emmett got me lube, oils, handcuffs, a blindfold, a vibrator and in the next box was the Kama Sutra telling me that from what he's heard Seth and I need to learn a few new tricks."

Alice giggled, having known all along what was going to be in that gift, Rosalie smirked and wiggled her eyebrows, Bella frowned at Rosalie, and Nessie's mouth fell open in shock before stealing a furtive glance at Rose. I started laughing and they all looked at me a little funny.

"Sure Rose, just try and deny the fact that I stumbled across your copy when I was twelve. I was traumatized for a month, and I can tell you right now, vamps must have written that thing because I don't see how some of those positions are even humanly possible!" They all laughed except for Bella who was still frowning.

"Well, I can tell _you_ right now that you'll be thankful for their presents before the honeymoon is over," Alice trilled next to me.

I looked at her with narrowed eyes. "I so will not!"

"Yes you will," she smiled back deviously.

"No, I won't! There's no way I would ever be caught dead wearing that bustier and using a whip!"

"Well, not the whip, but you will wear the bustier at some point," she answered with a giggle.

"Nope...won't happen!" I was growling through clenched teeth.

"Yes it will."

"NO, It won't!"

"You two sound like a couple of five year olds," Nessie giggled from her seat next to me.

"Lina, what's the family motto?"

I glared at her before finally mumbling, "Never bet against Alice, but I can tell you…"

She cut me off, "EXACTLY, NEVER bet against Alice!" She winked and danced off as I mumbled under my breath, "Will NOT!"

"Yes you will," I heard her sing from across the room as Rose, Nessie, and Bella began to laugh. I took in a deep breath and sighed no longer willing to argue as I focused back on the lady meticulously painting my toes.

My treatments seemed to go on forever, but when we were done I was pleased with the pretty French tips on my fingernails and my toes were painted to match. We all piled back into the car and when we arrived back at the main house, Alice gave me a few minutes to say bye to Leighton, Malia, and Jenny before immediately snatching me and pulling me upstairs for another Angelina Barbie session. It was still shorter than normal but when I was done I was definitely made up for going out, but I was shocked at the end result.

The style of my makeup and especially my hair was highly out of vogue. I walked out of the bathroom with big hair and tall bangs being led by the hand by Alice who pulled me into my room and forced me into a flowery baby doll dress, a blue jean jacket, and white leggings with lace along the bottom hem of both legs with a pair of keds and double layered slouch socks. I looked at her in confusion wondering if she had hit her head while wrestling with Emmett or perhaps suffering from some strange version of vampire mad cow disease until she turned to me with a denim hat with a flipped up side and a sunflower sewn into it and it all clicked. We were going to do some sort of nineties themed thing next. I smiled widely and then turned to look in the mirror laughing at the ridiculous look, but still excited to see what was coming up next. She disappeared from the room reappearing a few minutes later in a strapless dress with a ruffled skirt and a wide headband in her hair before dragging me downstairs to find that my sisters, some of the pack girls, and Leah were all dressed along the theme as well.

My mother had Sarina in her arms who giggled when she saw me and reached up to play with my hat pulling it off of my head and trying to eat the flower. Mom and Sue said that they were on babysitting duty tonight while we were out and for us to go have fun. Nessie kissed Sarina on the head and told her to be good for Grammy Esme before Alice pulled us both away, dragging us out to the car once again.

Rosalie drove as Alice turned to me from the passenger seat throwing a denim purse in my hands. "In here is your new ID and a few other essentials. You don't say a word to anyone until after we are inside the club. There's also a card in there that details what you can drink and what time. I worked really hard on this, so you have to stick to the card or you are going to look and feel like crap tomorrow. Understand?"

I looked at her bewildered as I pulled a wallet out of the purse to see my picture on an out of state driver's license. The ID said my name was Angel Clearwater and that I was from Texas and was twenty-two. I looked up at Alice with wide eyes and began to protest, but she interrupted saying that as long as I did what she said I'd be fine.

I rummaged through the wallet to find money and a little card the size of a credit card with a timetable and a list of drinks to order at those times. It started with 7o'clock Amaretto Stone Sour and had lists of one drink per fifteen minutes to thirty minutes depending on the strength of the drink. "Um Alice, won't I get drunk if I drink all of these?"

"I told you silly; I went through each choice and placed them in that order for a reason. They're spread out just enough to let you feel a little tipsy and loosen up enough to really dance, but not so much to get you drunk. I'll warn you though…drink any more or in any different order than the list and you'll be sorry!"

"Al, I'm not sure this is such a good idea. I mean…" She cut me off. "You'll be fine. We'll all be there to watch out for you."

I sighed and looked out the window just in time to see us pull in front of a nineties themed club called the Peach Pit After Dark, just like the original Beverly Hills 90210 series. I giggled and pumped my fist hoping they would at least play the good stuff inside. This would be a long night if they only played hip-hop. The girls all smiled and grabbed me pulling me up to the guy holding the velvet rope. He looked at Alice as though she had three heads and questioned her age. She showed her ID and looked as if he didn't trust her but eventually let her in. The rest of us followed showing our Ids out of courtesy and were met without question and a few minutes later we were surrounded by the angsty lyrics of Nirvana and I smiled a big appreciative smile at my fairy godsister and bobbed my head to the beat as we crossed the room to find our table.

We were just about to sit down when I heard a familiar voice boom from the dance floor and I spun on my heels and began to jump up and down when I saw the boys already on the floor, also dressed to match the theme, with my Seth body surfing above the crowd. I turned to Alice and hugged her around the neck, "Thank you, thank you, thank you Ali. You're the best sister ever!"

She laughed and hugged me back before smacking me on the behind, "Oh just get out there and dance to your crappy music with your man!"

I squealed and ran out onto the dance floor just as the crowd of boys lowered my husband to the ground and ran straight into Seth's arms. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist letting him spin me around. After he finally set me down the rest of the boys took turns hugging me, some of which were pack brothers who had just hit town after the rehearsal and I hadn't known were in yet.

Seth spun me on the dance floor and danced a few songs with me, making faces at the music but dancing anyway. After a while I told him about the Alice timetable and he looked concerned but led me to the bar for my first drink anyway. We sat there for the next half hour allowing me to drain the first two drinks on the list and talk about the events of the day. It seems that while I was being dragged all over kingdom come and embarrassed by my sisters and one brother who would someday pay, the boys were all hanging out at our house playing Xbox while Emmett was trying to give Seth pointers on bedroom positions. He laughed so hard I thought he was going to cry when I told him about what he and Rosalie had gifted me with.

After my second drink, which happened to be a Long Island Iced Tea which I enjoyed way too much and may have ingested a tad too quickly, I was ready to dance, dragging Seth out to the dance floor to groove to the same Stabbing Westward song that he had come home early from California and caught me dancing to as I cleaned the house. It seemed that the alcohol made me no longer care that my brothers, sisters, and several pack members and their imprints were all observing us as I allowed my body to grind on Seth in a way that I had never done in public. At first he tried to stop me, but it didn't take him long to give up and just enjoy it for the two songs it lasted before the alcohol began to wear off and I was suddenly conscious of our audience again.

I had more energy than most of the humans could keep up with, including my fiancé resulting in me dancing much of the night with my tireless vampire siblings…although definitely not as, uh, freely as I had danced with Seth. Finally at eleven fifteen, Alice once again had to forcibly drag me away from my Seth as I held on for dear life.

Seth asked her to give us a second and he pulled me close swaying with me to the slow song being played and whispered into my ear, "I love you my Angel and tomorrow you will be all mine. Now go sleep and I'll see you in front of the altar under the stars tomorrow evening, and this time tomorrow night, nobody will be able to pull you away from me, I promise you that."

I smiled up at him and tipped up onto my tiptoes to kiss him on the lips as I scratched my fingers gently through the hair at the base of his neck. He sighed and pulled back kissing my forehead, my eyes, and my nose before placing a sweet kiss on my lips and telling me to go to Alice. I sighed and finally let go walking to Alice and the crew putting my arm around Nessie's waist, resting my head on her shoulder. She chuckled as I sighed.

"I'm tired guys, let's go home." They all smiled and we all went back out to pile into the car and make our way back home. I was asleep before we even left town and only woke up long enough to feel myself being carried into the house and woken up by Alice in order to take two Advil and drink a glass of water before falling back to sleep in a nice warm cozy bed. I smiled and thought of the words of my Seth. _"I'll see you in front of the altar under the stars tomorrow evening, and this time tomorrow night, nobody will be able to pull you away from me, I promise you that." _

I mumbled "I Love You, Seth." before drifting off into a nice long nightmare less sleep.

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Author's Note: Well guys..that was it. I hope you weren't disappointed. I had fun with it at least. Next chapter is their wedding day. I haven't really started it yet, but I can see it all so clearly that I'm not expecting much of a writer's block issue with it, so hopefully the wait won't be too terribly long, but I won't make any promises. Thanks for the favorites, alerts, and reviews. BellaandEdward4EVER2580 was the 250

_**th**__** reviewer! That was so awesome to break 250! Thanks guys and keep 'em coming, they make me happy! **_

_**Once again, I didn't get a featured author done for this week, and I'm going to be so busy with the wedding writing that I may not squeeze it in for the next one either, but I definitely don't want to leave anyone out. If you are a faithful reviewer of mine that I have yet to feature and have a story I can plug for you, PM me, and that way I won't have to hunt through everyone's profiles to find you. Deal? It would definitely help me out! **_

_**Thanks guys and sorry for the long A/N!**_


	26. For All Eternity

**Author's Note: Here it is, the much-awaited wedding chapter. All of the songs mentioned have links on my profile, so go check them out if you can't place them. Be sure to listen to the Cinderella song, it's so moving and it will greatly improve your reading experience if you listen to it while you are reading the end of the reception. **

**Sorry it took so long to get this out to you, I had hoped to get it out sooner, but I have company coming into town this weekend and had to work on getting my house ready. I shipped it off to my Beta at midnight last night and just got it back, and in the meantime, while cleaning, a new POV of this chapter came to me and during a break I sat down and typed it out. **

**Edward's POV of the brother's dance will be available on the extras posting if you are interested. It's definitely an all ages chapter and gives some pretty cool peeks into what the brother's are thinking while dancing with Lina and some glimpses into her early life with the family. **

_**Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own the rights to the twilight characters or any of the songs mentioned in this story or this chapter. No copyright infringements intended! **_

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26. For All Eternity

I had expected to be woken up on my wedding day by my overly excited pixie fashion consultant, but was pleasantly surprised to be awoken by the mid morning sun streaming in through the wall of glass in my old bedroom instead. I rolled over and looked at the clock that read 10:33am. I smiled, grateful for the chance to sleep in knowing that I had a long day and night ahead of me. I took a moment to evaluate my physical state and was pleased to find that Alice had once again been right; I didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable after my foray into the world of mixed drinks the night before. I sat up and squealed kicking my feet as the realization hit that today was the day. Today I was going to officially marry the love of my life. Today was my wedding day.

A half second after I finished my little girly moment the door opened and my sisters paraded in with a tray full of breakfast foods and smiles on all of their faces with my mother, Leah, and Sue in tow behind them. They all sat around on the edge of my bed and we laughed and talked as I took my time enjoying my breakfast. It was so nice to have some quiet time before the chaos of the day began.

Once I finished breakfast the caravan of ladies all made our way into Alice's bedroom where a line of chairs were set up. They all went about the task of getting ready for the wedding, taking turns doing one another's hair and makeup while I paced and fidgeted and joked around with them trying to calm my nerves. I didn't know why I was so nervous, I was already basically married to Seth, but I was still a ball of nerves. After my fifteenth circuit around the room I heard a few whispers and Alice suddenly materialized in front of me holding out my cell phone in her tiny hand.

"Oh just call him already, but keep it under ten minutes okay?"

I smiled and hugged her as I bounced up and down thanking her before snatching the phone out of her hand and running down the hall into my bedroom and slamming the door behind me.

"Hello my beautiful Angel! How did you pull off a phone call? Did you steal back your cell or what?"

I laughed, "Actually Alice got sick of watching me pace and surrendered my phone willingly in the hopes of getting a little peace."

"Why are you anxious honey? It's not like you have to worry that I'll freak out or disappear on you. We're already married in every way that counts; today we're just letting everyone else know and signing the paperwork to make it official."

I sighed, "I know. I can't tell you why I'm anxious, I just am. I guess it's more like the kid on Christmas morning that can't wait to open her presents anxious than scared anxious. Time just isn't moving fast enough!"

He laughed, "I know that feeling. I'm wearing the carpet a bit over here myself. I can't wait to see you in that dress of yours. You were so excited after you bought it…I know you really are going to look like a glorious angel in it!"

I giggled and decided to tease him, "Wow weddings make you really sappy baby. I think you just gave me a toothache!"

He chuckled with me, "But seriously though Seth, you are so amazing and sweet and I can't wait to see how hot you look in your tux. MMMMmmmm!"

We joked around a bit longer and by the time we hung up the phone at the insistence of my sisters I felt a lot better. I walked in to find all of my bridesmaids ready for the evening with perfect hair and makeup wearing button up shirts and shorts so that when it was time to change into their dresses the hair wouldn't suffer the change. The girls draped themselves over various pieces of furniture in the room as Rosalie disappeared and then returned with my Mom and Sue in tow and sat them down in the chairs as Alice and Rosalie set to work twisting their hair on top of their heads and putting on their makeup so that they match as the two ladies talked animatedly once again stopping every once in a while to smile sweetly at me and offer me assurances.

I sat on the window seat in Alice's room looking out over the expanse of the back yard being set up by all of the guys who graciously offered to assist us. It was a beautiful sunny day, but everyone on the property at the moment happened to know my family's little secret so the sparkling vampires were able to work right along side the russet pack members. I took in a deep breath and sighed as I watched the wide meadow behind our house slowly transform into the site for our reception with a stage at the far end of the meadow, a big wooden dance floor laid out in front of it with dozens of tables and chairs behind that between the dance floor and the house. The tables were all adorned with lavender tablecloths with a cluster of candles on each as centerpieces. Large paper lanterns hung from cables that draped back and forth above the entire back yard and torches stood in the ground along the property line. According to Alice, the sky would be staying beautiful and clear all day long and the stars would be out in the sky the entire night.

While the beautiful weather allowed us to have the outdoor wedding I had always dreamed of, it also necessitated a nighttime wedding and reception in order for my family to be a part of it. This was all well and good except it meant that I had to wait until eight pm for the sun to drop below the horizon before the ceremony could begin. It was now four, which meant that I had an excruciating four hours left to wait.

Soon our mothers were finished and it was my turn to slip into the dreaded chair of torture to endure the long and drawn out process of preparing me for my role as THE BRIDE. At least it gave me a purpose for the next two and a half hours as Alice and Rosalie swarmed around me poking and prodding, pulling and tugging. When they were finished they finally turned me around to see the end result. My hair was pulled into a pile of curls carefully pinned and positioned as they started on the top of my head and flowed beautifully down my head and neck stopping just above the top of my dress with a few corkscrew tendrils hanging around my face. In front of the pile of curls my tiara sparkled and shined. My makeup was a perfect blend of dressy and yet classic Lina full of soft pinks and a hint of lavender on my eyelids. I smiled at the overall effect and turned to thank Alice and Rosalie.

Twenty minutes and a few hyper calls by Alice to ensure that me and Seth's house was empty and there was no chance of Seth and I bumping into one another later, the girls and I made the cautious trip between houses being careful not to be seen and not to let the wind damage our hair. We rushed in the back door and I paused to look through the large windows at the back yard and gasped at the sight. I knew it would be even more beautiful tonight with all of the torches and lights blazing around us, but in the daylight I could plainly see the beautiful purple wisteria that clung and draped down the sides of the whitewashed gazebo over the water of our little pond and then twisted along the railing of the short dock that connected the gazebo to the shore. There was a long white carpet that led from the back door of the house and bisected the white chairs set up for our guests that lined the shore leading straight to the shore where Seth would be waiting for me. It was simple and yet absolutely beautiful and everything I ever dreamed of. I was only allowed to gawk a few minutes before Alice tore me way to be herded up to our bedroom where our dresses were all hung in a nice neat line one wall of the room.

The other ladies all began to slide out of their clothes and into their undergarments and dresses for the ceremony while Alice fidgeted to fix my hair in the few places where it escaped it's desired position before forcing me to strip and shoving me into a white corset and slip skirt that included some fluffy tulle to help flair the skirt of my dress. Then she led me in front of the full-length mirror as Bella and Rosalie brought my dress over from where it hung gracefully against the wall. Alice directed me to kneel with my hands up and they lifted the skirt over my head being sure to keep it open so as not to mess up my hair and then Alice directed me to stand up, zipping the long strapless dress behind me just as the photographer was led into the room to get shots of me getting dressed.

My breath left my chest as I looked in the mirror amazed at how wonderful everything looked all together. A moment later I saw my smiling mother standing behind me with the box containing her necklace and earrings in her hand. She placed the box in Alice's hands carefully removing the necklace and gently placing it around my neck, fastening it in the back before placing a loving kiss on my cheek. Next she took out the earrings and carefully placed each one in my ears. She gave me a gentle hug, careful not to wrinkle my dress whispering words of love and encouragement before walking out of the room with saddened gleam in her eye.

Alice left my side just as my brothers entered the room, Jake carried a lilac clad Sarina in his arms cooing as she caught sight of me as she reached out for her little hands for me and then screeching in frustration when she was denied her wish. She looked so adorable in a her little dress with a little wreath of white baby's breath resting on her head amongst her little black curls. Jake hugged me and wished me luck telling me he'd see me downstairs and then left before Sarina could get even more upset.

Just as he left the room, Alice asked my brothers to step back a minute as she reached up and placed the delicate veil on my head strategically burying it in my curls behind my tiara and fluffing it out behind me. My brothers all looked at me with saddened faces for a moment before giving me gentle hugs and telling me how beautiful I looked and how much they loved me. It didn't escape my notice that the second they finished they each immediately floated to their mates sides where they received comforting embraces and knowledgeable looks.

The photographer put us into groups for pictures with my bridesmaids and my brothers and I knew more pictures would be taken after the ceremony of all of us together. Finally after a ton of pictures the photographer left and the rest of the room followed leaving me alone in the room for a moment. I looked in the mirror in amazement at myself, I took in the yards and yards of fabric and thousands of dollars worth of jewels and still couldn't help but feel a bit naked. I looked down at my left hand where my engagement ring and wedding ring normally sat and twitched it missing the reassuring weight of it on my hand. It seemed so odd not to have it on after a year and a half of never taking it off, but I took comfort in the fact that I would be getting it back very, very soon. I walked over to the window in our room that looked down on the back yard and I glanced down at the lawn to see that the guests had begun arriving and that over half of the seats around the pond were filled. The brightly colored sky had already begun to darken as the last remnants of the sunset faded away and the slight yellow hue of the flickering torches and tiny white lights covering the gazebo and the dock lit the area below. My heart began to pick up pace as the time grew closer and I stole a glance at the heels I was going to soon be forced into praying that I wouldn't trip on the dangerously high heels and do a face plant in front of all of our guests. Edward walked back into the room and came over to wrap his arm around my shoulders gently and kiss my temple.

"You're going to be fine. Don't worry. You know Alice would never allow you to wear those heels if she saw something like that was even a remote possibility."

I smiled up at him and he smiled back down gently rubbing my arm. He took a deep breath and furrowed his brow as though he was debating over something and then his face relaxed back to perfection before he spoke.

"I confided this to Seth many months ago, but I feel like I want to make sure you know this. You are such an amazing person. You are special to each one of us and I just wanted to tell you, that as far as I'm concerned, I've had two daughters…one born of my body and one born of my heart. I love you so much and even though we've gotten to do it very slowly, it has been difficult letting you go, but it won't matter how old you get or how long you are someone else's wife, you will always be our little girl."

I looked up at him and I could feel the tears threatening to spill over my eyelashes as I smiled up at Edward. I tipped up on my toes and stretched as high as I could to wrap my arms around his neck hugging him as tightly as I possibly could knowing it wouldn't harm him. "I love you Edward." I leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "I've loved you all, but you've always been my favorite!"

He chuckled as I released his neck and rolled back down to my heels. He reached forward and ran a finger gently along my cheekbone below my eyes. "You better not let those fall or else Alice will have both of our heads!"

I laughed just as Alice floated back in with Sue, Leah, and Danny right behind her. Sue came over and gave a big hug as Edward slipped quietly out of the room.

"Oh, I am so happy my son found you Lina! You make him so happy and you are so sweet. I'm so happy to be gaining a daughter today."

I smiled and hugged her back, "Okay, is there some sort of bet to see who can make me cry before the ceremony today or what?" I asked with a chuckle and she joined me.

"You look so beautiful Lina. He's going to die when he sees you!"

She stepped back and Danny stepped forward pulling me into a big brotherly hug while still being careful of my dress. "It feels odd you getting married before me kiddo! It's like it's against nature or something."

"Tell me about it," Leah mumbled behind him and we all laughed.

"Oh you guys get your day soon enough, and besides, Seth and I were together for nine whole months before you two met, so it's only fair we get to tie the knot first!" We stood and talked a few more minutes before Alice tucked her head in to let Sue know that Charlie would be escorting her to her seat soon. Everyone once again filtered out leaving me alone in the room as I struggled to swallow knowing I had less than ten minutes. I once again returned to the window to see that the darkness had now completely settled, but the back yard was still quite bright thanks to the soft illumination the torches and tiny light strands provided.

I felt my breathing increase pace as Alice returned to the room with a smile, helping me slide into the four-inch heels and hug me. "Lina, everything is going to turn out perfect. Trust me. You have nothing to worry about."

I smiled at her as she led me down the staircase and into the living room to wait. My sisters and brothers all crowded around me for one last hug and wish of luck before my father drifted gracefully over to me and took my hand cradling it in the cool embrace of his own. "Oh my darling Lina, you look so breathtakingly beautiful." He shook his head with a wide smile as though the proper words escaped him before reaching up to caress my cheek. Alice glided over again handing me my bouquet of purple wisteria, cream roses with pink tips, and lavender calla lilies. I pulled the bouquet to my nose to smell the sweet scent of the flowers and with a tremble in my hand I reached out to loop my hand through my father's waiting arm as I heard the orchestra begin to play Pachelbel's Canon D knowing that the first of my bridesmaids and their groomsmen were making their way up the aisle.

We had it all planned to the minutest detail, and luckily for them, our siblings all got to come forward with their better halves. First up the aisle were Jake and Nessie carrying Sarina as our "flower girl". Once they reached the front, they would hand Sarina over to Mom and then take their place along the shoreline. Next would be Rosalie and Emmett, then Alice and Jasper, and then finally Bella and Edward who were our best man and matron of honor.

I listened to the music slowly fade knowing that it was the cue that indicated that Bella and Edward had reached their places and it was time for Dad and I to make our first appearance. As we stepped through the doorway the trumpet player began as the orchestra joined in playing Clarke's Trumpet Voluntary as the crowd in the seats stood. My breath caught in my chest and I felt my sternum tighten as my dad gently caressed my hand and whispered that we were fine and then we took our first step forward. At first everything was a blurry haze as we walked forward and I didn't really see any of the faces in the crowd, all I saw was the gazebo getting larger the closer we got to it. Then my whole world came to focus we I saw Seth standing in front of the wooden dock smiling at me so brightly and looking so incredibly amazing in his black Armani tux and suddenly all of the tension left me and I smiled as wide as was humanly possible fighting not to rush my way past the crowd and into his arms.

After what seemed like an eternity we reached the front as Seth took his place on the far side of my father and the minister addressed the crowd. He looked to my father and asked, "Who gives this woman to be joined with this man?" My father looked at me with a warm smile and then back to the minister and responded, "My family and I do." Then he squeezed my hand tighter before pulling it to his lips to place a loving kiss on the back. If vampires were capable of crying, my father would have been. He gently placed my hand in Seth's before patting him on the shoulder and whispering, "Take good care of her son," and going to take his seat next to my mother.

Seth looked at me as tears pooled in his eyes, "Oh my Angel, you look so much better than I could ever have imagined." He pulled my hand up to kiss it before turning to follow the minister as he led us up the three steps onto the dock to stand in front of the gazebo.

I turned to stare at Seth as the minister spoke of love and commitment, but I couldn't hear a thing. All I saw was Seth. All I could hear was his breath and his heartbeat. All I could smell was his delicious scent over all of the hundreds of flowers surrounding us. My whole world was standing right in front of me and the amazing part was that he was looking at me as though I were the one that was amazing.

After a while I was faintly aware that the minister's tone had changed as he announced that Seth and I had written our own vows that we wished to share with one another and he stepped back and suddenly it felt as though we were standing on the dock alone just as we had on the balcony at the beach. Nothing else existed except the two of us as Seth squeezed my hands and began to speak, never breaking his gaze from my eyes.

"My Lina, my Angel, in every way. In all my years of life, I thought I had everything figured out. I thought I knew what happiness was, what joy was, what peace was, what love was, and then I met you and I realized that I knew nothing of any of those things until that day. You are the only person in this world that I could spend every minute of every day with for the rest of eternity and never grow tired of and I am so happy that the rest of eternity starts today. I promise you that I will be by your side through everything, good or bad, happy or sad, no matter what comes our way, I will stand beside you and hold your hand and hug you close and remind you that everything will be okay, because as long as we have each other, it will be. My love for you will not be limited by life or death, but will stay forever true until the end of time."

By the time he was finished and lifted my hands to kiss the backs of them, the tears were spilling over my eyelashes and down my cheeks. I squeezed his hands tighter as I took a step closer so that we were only a few inches apart. My voice quivered with my words, but I managed to make them come out loud enough to be heard.

"Seth, my love and my life, you came into my life when I least expected you and you transformed it from something great to something phenomenal. I never really believed that fairytales were real until you walked into my life and stole my heart and took up sentinel over it to keep it safe. You are the one person that can calm me down no matter what the circumstances and the one person that always knows what I'm feeling and thinking before I even realize it myself. You are the kindest most wonderful man I have ever known and I am so amazed and honored that you want to spend the rest of your days with me. I promise to love you and be beside you no matter what the future may hold for us and I will be your partner and your lover and your friend always and forever."

His brown eyes twinkled throughout my entire speech as a few tears escaped the sides of his beautiful almond eyes and his smile was so bright it was nearly blinding. "I love you so much Angel," he whispered to me. "I love you too sweetheart," I whispered back as the minister returned to stand before us and asked for the rings. Bella and Edward stepped onto the dock handing each of us the other's rings with loving smiles before returning to their places on the shore.

The minister began to speak of how our rings symbolized our love and eternal bond to one another and then directed Seth to go first, slipping my ring onto my finger as he said the words, "With this ring, I thee wed." As the ring slipped into place I felt whole and complete in a way that I never had before. The last tiny fragment of the puzzle of my life felt as though it fell into place. I was his forever. Following the minister's directions I did the same with Seth's ring as I repeated the words and I felt the vibration of a similar feeling move through me from Seth and I smiled.

The minister began to recite the final vows of the ceremony as my eyes remained focused on his and I was actually taken by surprise when I watched Seth's mouth moved and I heard him say the words "I Do." He chuckled at my expression as I realized I had completely phased out on all the minister had said prior to that point. I focused on the minister's words now as I knew I had to respond soon too.

"Do you Angelina Cecelia Cullen, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for all the rest of your days?"

I smiled and pulled my lip through my teeth as I listened still scope locked on Seth's brown eyes and without hesitating answered "I Do."

The minister smiled at us and raised his voice to announce, "Then by the power vested in me I now pronounce you man and wife. Seth you may kiss your bride!"

He smiled and grabbed my waist pulling me against him and wrapping his hand around the nape of my neck as he pulled me in for a warm and passion filled kiss while my hands snaked excitedly around his neck as our guests and family applauded behind us. I saw movement from the corner of my eye just seconds before the bright glow of fireworks exploded above our heads in rapid succession. I tried to pull back from our kiss after a bit, but Seth refused to let go as he pulled me closer earning a few snickers from the audience members who were actually watching us instead of the raining colored sparks above us. Finally he pulled back although I suspected it was purely for the need for oxygen as we both took a moment to gaze at the sky and watch the colorful cascades of embers continue to explode above us. The minister snickered behind us before announcing for the crowd. "I now introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Seth and Lina Clearwater!"

We turned to look at our guests with wide smiles as the music began earning a few more snickers from the crowd as the orchestra began to play our exiting song. The Throne Room song from the original Star Wars began to play and we walked down the aisle and into our house as my siblings followed. Seth pulled me straight into our living room and into a passionate kiss as my siblings stood behind us laughing. They all hugged us and gave us their congratulations before we were guided along the path to the yard behind the main house to greet our guests as they were dismissed from the ceremony site and directed toward the reception.

The guest reception line seemed to stretch on forever. My friends all hugged me and told me how beautiful the ceremony was and how amazing we both looked. Our other guests included the Denali coven. I couldn't help but notice Bella bristle ever so slightly as Tanya hugged Edward. Even after all of these years, she for some reason still felt inferior next to Tanya despite the fact that she was far more beautiful than Tanya ever dreamed of being, but as Edward always said, she never did see herself clearly. She was accompanied by a gentleman that she later introduced to Edward and Bella as her mate, Evan, and Bella visibly cheered at the new information. Kate and Garrett also attended. I had found that I really liked those two. Garrett was a particularly interesting individual with some great stories he had collected over the years. Carmen and Eleazar gave me big hugs and Eleazar told me I made a beautiful bride as they passed. A few more of my father's colleagues passed before the pack began to enthusiastically make their way through the line. Each and every one seemed ecstatic and all hugged me so tightly I feared I would be sore the next morning. I was amazed to find that even more had arrived overnight and that the entire group minus three of the younger members who didn't know Seth very well had attended, and the three missing members only stayed behind for safety precautions.

After the line had finally passed we took the time to go back and have pictures taken in front of the gazebo and full family pictures taken and once that was finished we went back to join the reception where a nice warm catered dinner was served before we cut the cake and the dances were to begin. After giving us time to eat a piece of our cake, Alice drifted over and pulled us both up on stage where Edward and Bella were waiting to do their toasts.

Edward started by grabbing the microphone as the clicked his champagne flute against it and cleared his throat. It only took a second for the murmur of the crowd to die and he took a deep breath and began.

"Seth and Lina are two of the most honest, kind hearted, decent people I have ever met. They both have a matching purity of heart, almost as though they were crafted specifically for one another. It was obvious to the rest of us long before it was to either of them that one day they would end up together and we were pleased when the day came that they did. I have no doubt in my mind that they will spend the rest of their days complementing one another and supporting one another as only two soul mates who are truly meant to be together can. To Seth and Lina!"

The rest of the crowd echoed the final words of his toast and they all took a drink of wine, and to my surprise my entire family was included. I appreciated the gesture, but I couldn't help but feel bad for the resulting effect for all of them later. Edward put his arm around Bella handing her the microphone and she took it shyly and began.

"As many of you know, Lina is my baby sister, and I know that if our mother was here to see this day, that she would be so proud of her. Lina is a perfect combination of my mother and my stepfather, somehow managing to inherit the best of each of them in a way that makes her an amazing and wonderful person with the sweetest and most loving heart I have ever seen. What many of the rest of you may also know is that Seth is my stepbrother, thanks to the union of my father and his mother. As long as I've known him, Seth has always been a happy-go-lucky, accepting, kind hearted, all around good guy. Now I never thought that I would see a day when I would be saying this, but I'm so happy that my brother married my sister!" Everyone began to laugh at this point and I blushed at the realization that I never really put together before. To someone listening from the outside we sort of sounded like a scene out of Deliverance or something. I could feel Seth laughing next to me and after the initial shock I began laughing too as Bella continued in her speech. "Seriously though, Seth and Lina and two amazing people on their own, but watching them come together and to see their love grow over the last couple of years has really been like watching a miracle unfold before your very eyes, and I'm so honored to have been able to witness it. The two of you truly are a testament to true love. To Seth and Lina!"

Once again the crowd echoed the final words and everyone took another drink from their glasses as Seth and I hugged Bella and Edward and thanked them for their wonderful speeches and it was time for the first dances to begin. Seth led me down the stairs to the dance floor and nodded to the DJ as the sound of a guitar and piano of Amazed by Lonestar began to play on the speakers. Seth leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "My Dad used to listen to this song in the car when I was young and I always thought that if I found someone who I felt this way about that I would be the luckiest man in the world…and then I found you and all of a sudden the words don't even come close to the reality." He leaned forward and kissed me as the lyrics began to echo through the back yard and we danced slowly side to side as our foreheads touched and our eyes never left one another.

_Every time our eyes meet  
This feeling inside me  
Is almost more than I can take  
Baby when you touch me  
I can feel how much you love me  
And it just blows me away  
I've never been this close to anyone or anything  
I can hear your thoughts  
I can see your dreams_

Seth leaned back and ran his finger gingerly across my cheek to catch the tear that was traveling down from my eyes with a smile before kissing both of my cheeks and pulled me tighter into his chest. I buried my face in his neck and breathed deeply as I tried to burn this moment in my memory.

_I dont know how you do what you do  
Im so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Baby Im amazed by you_

The smell of your skin  
The taste of your kiss  
The way you whisper in the dark  
Your hair all around me  
Baby you surround me  
You touch every place in my heart  
Oh it feels like the first time every time  
I wanna spend the whole night in your eyes

I leaned back from Seth's neck and ran my hand along his jaw before cupping his cheek and pulling him in for another long sweet kiss. The song was so beyond perfect. It really was everything I would ever want to try to say in one simple song. When I broke the kiss I placed small kisses along his cheek to his ear and whispered, "This was the perfect song baby, I love you so much." I rested my cheek against his as we continued to sway to the music.

I dont know how you do what you do  
Im so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Baby Im amazed by you

Every little thing that you do  
Im so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Oh, every little thing that you do  
Baby Im amazed by you.

As the song ended Seth and I once again kissed as applause began to rise from the audience, but we barely even noticed they were there. Suddenly I heard the voice of the DJ announcing it was time for the father daugther and mother son dance and looked up to see Alice smiling down at us as my father appeared at my side holding out his hand for me to take. I reached out for his hand as Seth walked over to extend his hand to his mother as Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World rose from the speakers. The song's mellow tune played as my father effortless twirled me around the dancefloor while Seth and Sue stayed relatively still as they swayed back and forth talking away. I couldn't help but smile at how sweet they were together. It was obvious to anyone that they were very close and it made me feel a bit bad that I had pulled them away from each other for so long. Before I knew it the song was over and my father happily returned me to Seth.

I had expected the next song to be the traditional wedding party dance, but I was surprised when a beaming Alice whispered to the DJ and the DJ announced that next I would be sharing a dance with my brothers. The slow piano strains of Steven Curtis Chapman's Cinderella began to play as Jasper walked up to me offering me his hand and pulled me gently to his side as he began to spin me around the dance floor as the words began to carry across the floor as he whispered in my ear, "We love you darlin'."

_She spins and she sways  
To whatever song plays  
Without a care in the world  
And I'm sitting here wearing  
The weight of the world on my shoulders_

_It's been a long day and there's still work to do  
She's pulling at me saying "Dad, I need you  
There's a ball at the castle and I've been invited  
And I need to practice my dancing  
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"_

To my surprise Jasper kissed my forehead and took my hand as he spun me out to be caught in the big strong arms of Emmett who smiled down at me. It never ceased to amaze me how light on his feet Emmett is for such a big guy. "I know you're not leaving us all just yet, but I know that this means we're that much closer to it. We're going to miss you so much kid. You don't even know how much." I pulled him closer to hug him as he lifted me off my feet and set me on his just like he did with me when I was little. I laughed and let him float me across the floor.

_So I will dance with Cinderella  
While she is here in my arms  
'Cause I know something the prince never knew  
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella  
I don't want to miss even one song  
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight  
And she'll be gone..._

_She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed  
She wants to know if I approve of the dress  
She says, "Dad, the prom is just one week away  
And I need to practice my dancing  
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"_

After already experiencing it with Jasper, I wasn't surprised when I was spun into the waiting arms of Jake who smiled down at me with tears in his eyes. The first ones I had seen on my family tonight, of course, he was the only one capable of producing them or else I was sure I would have seen many, many more. "You look beautiful tonight Lina. I'm so happy for both of you. I know you two will have a wonderful life together." I whispered my thanks, still trying to swallow back my tears knowing I had one more brother left and I was sure that he was going to be the one to wrench my heart out the most.

_So I will dance with Cinderella  
While she is here in my arms  
'Cause I know something the prince never knew  
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella  
I don't want to miss even one song  
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight  
And she'll be gone_

_She will be gone_

Jake pulled me a bit tighter before spinning me into the waiting arms of Edward and I felt my chest tighten immediately. Of all of my brothers, he was the one that this song seemed to fit to the most. Edward was always more of a father figure toward me than the rest. Of course that probably had as much to do with the declarations he made to me before the wedding as anything. He said he considered himself to have two daughters, Nessie and Me. When I first joined the Cullens so many years ago, Edward was the first of my new family besides Jake that I was willing to allow close to me. He spent many nights holding and rocking me to sleep while humming his compositions. I loved my father and always referred to him as Dad, but if I were totally honest I would have to say that in my heart of hearts, Edward was the one I would really consider my true father. As the thoughts drifted through my mind Edward looked down at me with a look that was a combination of love and pain as he whispered, "I feel the same way Lina. You will always be my daughter." I held myself as close as possible as I sobbed into his chest while we spun effortlessly on the dance floor and Edward placed light kisses on my forehead for the remainder of the song.

_Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand  
Just glowing and telling us all they had planned  
She says, "Dad, the wedding's still six months away  
But I need to practice my dancing  
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"_

_So I will dance with Cinderella  
While she is here in my arms  
'Cause I know something the prince never knew  
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella  
I don't want to miss even one song  
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight  
And she'll be gone_

The song ended but Edward continued to hold me as I cried and Seth came out rubbing my back and patting Edward on his shoulder. Finally after a couple of minutes I was able to compose myself again and looked up at him smiling and spoke to him in my mind. _You'll always be my father in my heart Edward._ He pulled me to him again and kissed my head one last time before returning me to Seth's embrace and walking over to hug Bella in his arms and burying his face in her neck as she patted his back comfortingly.

The reception continued through the rest of the night, the last of the guests leaving just before dawn as Alice took my hand pulling me up to my old bedroom and pulling me out of my gown and undergarments before slipping a pretty white summer eyelet covered dress on me with matching sandals and helping me let my hair down to fall loose and curly down my back.

Once I was all dressed and ready to go back downstairs I turned and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you so much Alice. Everything was so utterly perfect. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect night and I know it was all thanks to you. I love you so much!"

She smiled as she hugged me back, "It was my pleasure. Now let's get you back down to that husband of yours so you two can get started on that honeymoon."

"I don't even get a hint of where we're going?"

"Trust me; one hint wouldn't even begin to cover what your next three weeks are going to be like!"

"Really?" I asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh just get down there and get started and you'll find out soon enough," she answered with a laugh as she pushed me toward the stairwell.

We made our way downstairs to a flurry of hugs and kisses from our family as they bid us goodbye and Edward drove us to the airport. I was exhausted by the time that we actually got in the car and I rested back against Seth. I tried so hard not to fall asleep, but my struggle was useless. I drifted off to sleep to the sounds of Seth and Edward talking as we sped toward the airport to begin my mysterious honeymoon.

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Author's Note: Okay…that was an emotional one to write. I'm seriously sitting here crying right now over the brothers' dance. LOL. Anyway, you guys know the drill, let me know what you think! I love your reviews and to hear your responses! And don't forget to go check out Edward's POV and the links on my profile page!


	27. Little Pink Lines

_**Disclaimer: The Twilight world is all Stephenie Meyer's creation; I just took her stories and added on my own ideas of what happened after BD. Unfortunately I don't own any of it. **_

_**Author's Note: Sorry guys, I know you were all hoping for more honeymoon details and the such, but I decided after much debate that I want to do another 'time warp' and catch up in retrospect. Hope you're not too disappointed, but I think this will be a good move. **_

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27. Little Pink Lines

I sat in the floor of the master bathroom staring at the little white stick, praying that this time there would be two pink lines. Seth and I had been trying for nearly a year to get pregnant and every month that passed I became more and more disappointed. I sighed and scooted back against the wall next to the shower and closed my eyes praying that this time would be a yes.

We just celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary back in July. Six years of heavenly wedded bliss with the most wonderful, understanding, and attentive husband ever created!

We had a beautiful honeymoon that started with a week in Hawaii where we stayed in a high dollar five star resort with a very private beach that we couldn't resist taking full advantage of.

From there we flew to Sydney where we stayed two days in a secluded bed and breakfast in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales about three hours north of the city. The views were tremendous not that we spent too much time looking at it. I know it was a waste, but we were getting much more pleasure out of the freedom of such seclusion. It was here that I was reminded to never bet against Alice because I ended up breaking down and wearing the leather bustier I had gotten at my bridal shower after Seth admitted to Xena Warrior Princess fantasies. I mean, who am I to deny the man when he was so excited at the prospect?

After that we flew to Rome, which ended up being my favorite city of the trip ironically enough. In spite of the knowledge that the Volturi were based nearby, I still found it to be the most romantic city of all and I never once felt endangered, even when we encountered a nomad who ran away in fear of Seth. Having a big, strong, sexy shape shifter husband definitely had its advantages. We spent three days there taking in the tourist attractions in the daytime and then we would walk every evening to the Spanish Steps or meander around a piazza just soaking up the romance of the city in one another's arms.

From Rome we traveled to the coast and boarded a two-day cruise across the Mediterranean Sea to Barcelona where we toured various tourist sites. My favorite was Guell Park at night. I was completely fascinated by Antionio Gaudi's designs. Sagrada Familia, the giant cathedral designed by him that is still in progress literally gave me chills.

After three days in Barcelona we a train ride to Paris where we were the most cliché tourists ever going to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night and dining at tiny bistros and kissing at every opportunity.

On our third afternoon in Paris we took a limo to Calais for a ferry ride across the English Channel to Dover for the pure experience of seeing the cliffs before traveling to London for a nice four-day stay before returning home. I have to admit that London was a nice relief after bumbling around three countries for nearly two weeks being your typical American tourists who didn't speak the local language.

The entire trip was all so unbearably perfect as we literally made love across the world. Bliss was an understatement and while I had always dreamed of seeing the world, it was so much better in the arms of Seth.

When it was all over we returned home to a very excited family who insisted on hearing all about our trip. Of course there were quite a few details that we left out, but they were excited to hear our perspectives on all of the locations that we had never experienced before.

A couple of weeks after returning home, I started my first full time semester at the community college taking fifteen credit hours trying to squeeze as much in as possible. We spent one more slightly bittersweet Christmas and New Year with my family before packing up and moving to California so I could begin the Spring semester at Stanford after Nessie, Jake, and Danny all raved about the time they spent there and Seth and I were both yearning for a little face time with a sunnier climate. We had loved our previous trips to California and our Honeymoon time in Hawaii and were excited for the change after both living our entire lives in gloomy rainy places. The only negatives to that were that it would limit my family's ability to visit us and we would be on the opposite side of the country from them.

On January fifth of that new year Seth and I had already shipped everything ahead to a little house we had rented within walking distance of campus and all of our belongings had been shipped ahead for us and Sue and Leah had gone down from Washington to supervise the delivery and setup of our furniture and did some minor unpacking for us so that when we arrived the place would at least be livable. My car had been shipped along with the furniture, which meant that Seth and I were driving cross-country together in his Camry.

After the last of our furniture was moved out of our first home, we closed it up for sale and moved into the main house for the last few days we stayed with my family. Our final walk through before locking the doors was a sad one to say the least. Seth held me as I cried inconsolably as I walked through the rooms were we had shared so many firsts in both our intimate lives as well as our married life. A part of me wished we could hold onto the property, but I knew we would never have a reason to move back here. My family would be moving on in a year or so, and without them here, there would be no reason for us to return and in the meantime it would just be a financial drain that we didn't need, so I said goodbye to our cabin on the little lake where we joined ourselves legally in front of our family and friends and tried to be brave as we moved forward with our life.

From January fifth to the ninth I spent every spare minute I could with my family. We all had heavy hearts as we all said our goodbyes in little ways. The gestures were small and insignificant to any outsider, but I knew full well how much they truly meant. So I thought that I would be ready to walk away having taken the time to say my little goodbyes to each and every one of the loved ones who had raised me for the last fourteen years of my life…but I couldn't have been more wrong. As I hugged them all for the last time, hanging on with all my might I felt as though my chest would cave in with the pressure of the sadness I felt at walking away from them. Thankfully only Edward and Jasper were fully aware of exactly how hard it all was for me. I put on a brave face and tried to act excited for the next step, but inside I was broken and hurting.

After the fifth time making rounds getting and giving hugs to everyone we finally slid into Seth's car and he reached over with sympathy in his eyes as he took my hand and squeezed it hard placing a kiss on the back before putting the car into drive and pulling down the drive. I felt my breath speed to the verge of hyperventilation as I watched my family and the home we had shared for the past two and a half years disappear in the side view mirror as the tears streamed down my face. I could sense Seth's feelings of sorrow and hopelessness at my reactions and they made me feel horrible, but I couldn't stop my sobs for the first hour of our cross-country trip. He did all he could as he held my hand and rubbed my arm soothingly and eventually convinced me to rest my head on his shoulder as he drove. When we stopped at our first overnight stay he didn't even say a word. He checked us into the hotel room and the second the door closed to the room he led me to the bed and held me in his arms as I cried until I could cry no more.

I awoke the next morning still sad, but no longer inconsolable. The next two days of driving became easier and easier the closer we got to our new life. January twelfth we pulled into the driveway of our new home on the edge of Stanford University campus. We unloaded the car and went in to see how the house was coming along before taking a drive to check out campus. I had five days to get settled, get my books and other things for classes, and figure out where I needed to be going.

The following week I walked onto Stanford University as a sophomore thanks to Edward greasing a few palms to get them to accept my junior college credit courses for full credit in the English program I had entered into. I jumped in with both feet, even taking summer and winter term courses eventually adding a double major and graduating magna cum laude in three years with a bachelor's degree in English and Education with a minor in Psychology. We even got lucky enough that Alice was able to see that my graduation day would be overcast and my family was able to join us for the graduation ceremony. They were so proud it was ridiculous…especially Edward who kept going on and on about how well I had done with my dual majors.

During my last year of school Seth and I sat down and really discussed where we should look to set up permanent roots. We loved the sunshine, but we wanted to live somewhere that my family could come visit any time without issues and also to live closer to his family, so we scouted and found a great location just outside of the reservation that we purchased and built our dream home on. By the time I had graduated it was completed and ready to move in.

A month after graduation we were settled in our new home, I was already set up with a state of Washington teaching license and had been hired on the spot to teach high school English at the reservation school. I guess they didn't get many Stanford educated applicants, so they jumped on the chance enticing the thirty year veteran teacher to retire early. The first day of school she stopped by to visit and pick up her last paycheck and she dropped in to wish me luck with 'the little hellions'. I guess the kids weren't entirely kind to the nice elderly lady, but I had an in where she didn't since most of the hellions as she called them I later learned were the pack kids. I'm not sure if it was my abilities or simply my connection with the pack, but I found that they never gave me a moment's trouble and seemed to excel in my class. The school was small and only had four English classes throughout the entire day after which I supervised study halls and lunch periods, but after I had proven myself at the high school level, I was asked to pitch in with a Jr. High level class as well. Again the pack kids seemed to be causing a bit of trouble, but once I stepped in the problems ceased and the class excelled beyond the school's expectations. I found the job very rewarding and was glad that I was as successful as I was.

Seth and I continued on like this happy in our existence together. Seth's popularity had again risen in the entertainment community and while I hated his extended business trips, having a job that I loved so much helped his absences to be far more bearable. Seth was a hopeless romantic and every year we celebrated three anniversaries, we celebrated our wedding anniversary on July 4th, our marriage anniversary on my birthday, and our imprint anniversary every November.

It was on our seventh imprint anniversary when Seth asked what I thought about us trying to have a baby. I was so ecstatic I screamed and flew into his arms in the middle of the crowded restaurant in downtown Seattle. I didn't care I was making a scene because I was so happy. I knew we were ready and I wanted nothing more than to have babies with my Seth. I was so carried away that while riding the ferry across the sound on our way home I grabbed Seth's arms and dragged him to the ferry deck digging furiously in my purse the whole way. He watched me with confused amusement as I recklessly tore through the contents of my purse until I found what I was looking for. I pulled out the little tray that held my birth control pills and handed them to him telling him that I was letting him do the honors. He looked at me so confused and I laughed and rolled my eyes as I told him to toss them over the side. He laughed before lifting his hand over his shoulder and sending them sailing out over the bay where they splashed into the water beyond. Afterward he pulled me into his arms for a long hug and a kiss before I pulled him back to our car and into the back seat where I took full advantage of the thirty minutes we had left of the crossing. The last time we had spent time in the back of the car while crossing the sound had been the night he took me for dinner on top of the Space Needle and the first time we made out hot and heavy in the back of his car…this time the things that happened were far less innocent.

The first few months we didn't expect to get pregnant right away knowing that I had been on the pill for so long that my system would need to have a chance to get started up on a regular basis again, but after the first two months I began bending over backwards in order to help us get pregnant. I kept track of my temperature every morning using the rhythm method to know when I was ovulating and Seth even helped me stand on my head trying to let gravity help the little buggers along. The first month we had a negative test when I thought my period was late, but we were okay with it knowing that it might take a while to actually get pregnant. The next month I was over a week late and we just KNEW I had to be pregnant, but no such luck. Every month it was the same disappointment and I was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with me. I began to fear that those babies I had dreamed of so many years ago would never come to be and that thought broke my heart nearly in half.

I knew Seth wanted children as badly as I did and it broke my heart even more to see his disappointment every time the little white stick would only have one line and we once again knew that there as no little combination of Seth and Lina growing within me. I felt empty and hollow and I wanted more than anything to have that life depending on me to survive. For the first time in my life I had a whole new respect for Rosalie and the pain that she endures over never getting to have the babies she had dreamed of. It's one thing to be frustrated as we were and wondering if something is wrong, and yet it would be so much worse to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would never be possible.

I heard the timer ding on the bathroom counter next to the little white stick that mocked me from where it sat on the smooth marble surface above me. This month things were different, I had other signs besides a delayed period that made me think that maybe just maybe this month would finally be the month where I get good news, but I still found it hard to find the courage to stand up and look at the test. I was torn between wishing Seth were here with me and not in California meeting with a director for the next big project he was signed for, and being glad that he wasn't here if the answer was yet another disappointment. I took in a big deep breath and blew it out in a huff before slowly sliding my back up the wall unable to bring myself to look over at the stick at first and then slowly pushing off and walking toward the counter keeping my gaze locked with the reflection of my own eyes. My heart was pumping hard in my chest.

"Okay, If it's negative then you'll make an appointment to see the Gynecologist to run tests to make sure everything is okay. If it's positive then you'll call her to schedule an appointment. Either way you're calling the doctor, so just get it over with Lina." I sighed and looked down at the long white stick sitting on the cream marble counter and I screamed.

"Two Pink Lines! Oh my God, Oh My GOD! TWO PINK LINES!" I jumped up and down and chanted it over and over a few times hoping that the more I said it the more real it would be. I picked up my cell phone as I continued to jump up and down.

Seth answered on the second ring and I didn't bother to even ask if he was in a meeting, I just started screaming in the phone. "TWO PINK LINES SETH, TWO PINK LINES!"

From the other end of the line I suddenly heard Seth's voice yell with matching enthusiasm, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! TWO PINK LINES! WE'RE GOING TO BE PARENTS!"

"YES BABY! YOU'RE GOING TO BE A DADDY!"

We continued to scream into the phone at one another in our excitement for a few more minutes before we finally started to calm down. "Oh I love you Angel. I'm so happy!"

"Me too Seth, I love you so much."

"I'll be home in two days; do you think you can wait to tell everyone until then?"

"I'll try, but it's going to be hard. I'm so excited. I bet Alice already knows though. I bet I'll be getting a phone call as soon as I hang up with you!"

"I bet you're right Angel. I love you, but I better go. Dave has been very patient and has been laughing at me this whole time, but he really needs to finish up here."

"Oh my gosh, you were in the middle of a meeting? Tell Dave I said sorry."

He laughed, "It's okay, he's cool with it. I'll tell him though. Take care of yourself and our son for me please. I love you."

"I promise and I love you too!"

I hung up the phone and looked in the mirror to see I was literally glowing. I felt my phone buzz and looked down to see a text from Alice. All it said was "WEBCAM NOW!"

I ran downstairs still holding the white stick in my hand and flipped on my laptop logging into the network and bringing up net meeting. Two seconds later I was face to face with a screen full of my family all smiling at me from their new home in Alaska. When they moved away from our last home they opted to move back to the west coast in order to live as close as possible to us without living in the immediate area since it was still far too soon to return to places where someone might recognize them outside of those of us that knew the truth about them.

"TWO PINK LINES!" I continued to screech, the knowledge of the baby growing inside me seemingly stealing my ability to compose a more detailed exclamation.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" Everyone on the other end of the link chimed at once.

"What does two pink lines mean Mom? I don't get it." Sarina asked in the lower left corner of the screen looking confused.

"It means that Auntie Lina's having a baby sweetheart." Edward answered back.

Her mouth dropped open as she watched me on the screen before she finally closed it. "Really? That's SO Cool! I'm going to be an aunt…well sort of."

Sarina had grown so much and was so incredibly beautiful. I felt a bit sorry for the poor thing though, I thought I had it bad when I was little, but I never would have believed that Grandpa Edward would be even more overprotective that Brother/Father figure Edward was. They were all so overprotective that they decided to home school Sarina until she reaches her early teens, although I have a feeling that by that time she'll be so unbelievably gorgeous that her Daddy and Grandpa won't be able to deal with the attentions she will be receiving by the male population at that point.

We all laughed. "Sure sweetie, he can call you Auntie Sarina!"

"He huh?" Emmett asked from the top of the screen.

"According to my dreams, yes, and well, we've learned not to ignore my dreams by now haven't we?"

There was a quiet agreement in the crowd and I knew what they were thinking because I had been thinking the same thing ever since we decided to start trying, if my dreams are as they appear to be, the birth of my first child will ultimately start to provide us with a timeline for when to expect the Volturi situation to reach critical. It was hard to distinguish in my dreams, but to me the little boy in Seth's arms and in my arms during my various dreams, which seemed to become worse upon moving nearer to La Push appeared to be four, maybe five years old. Time was growing short…but I was determined that they weren't going to keep me from having the family I always wanted and deserved with my Seth.

We all sat and talked for another hour as everyone traded off turns to talk to me one on one. When we were finished I shut down the computer and picked up the phone to call Dr. Bradley's office and set up my first prenatal appointment. There may be many things in our future that I won't be able to control in order to protect my child, but I was going to begin doing everything in my power to make my child the safest and healthiest possible beginning immediately.

After I got off of the phone with the doctor's office I went back up to our bedroom and slipped out of my pants and into a pair of maternity pants that I had purchased in anticipation of needing them eventually before walking over to our bed and grabbing my pillow and stuffing up under my shirt and into the stretchy panel in the front of the pants. I walked in front of the full length mirror on the back of our closet door and smiled. I rubbed the pillow imagining how in a few months I would be rubbing the skin of my tummy as I would feel our baby move around and kick my hand. A tear slid down my cheek as I looked down and pulled the pillow out rubbing my abdomen lovingly.

"I can't wait to meet you little man. You be safe in there and grow big and strong and I'll see you in about nine months okay?" I lost all track of time as I stood there staring in the mirror and rubbing my tummy contentedly.

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Author's Note: Okay now please don't hate me for skipping so much time, but I was afraid that things would get boring if I kept going at that pace we were at and I wanted to skip ahead to the more exciting parts of Seth and Lina's life. I hope you enjoyed it and give me lots of good reviews and I hope I didn't disappoint too much.

I've also got myself sucked into yet another side story that has been getting some awesome responses. It's been up for less than a week and already has the same number of alerts as ITSOTD and is only about 12 alerts shy from having as many as Chasing Shadows does! I guess it supports my theory that Edward/Bella stories do better than ones with Original Characters…or maybe it's the fact that it's an M rating. Anyway, I've been amazed, but don't worry, I'm not going to let Seth and Lina fall by the wayside. I just struggled a bit with deciding where I wanted to go from the wedding chapter. Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you all soon!

_**Thanks you Mel for the beta work and the suggestions. I do think it helped round it out a bit more. Hope you like the changes.**_


	28. Pregnancy Woes and Pack Kids

**Disclaimer: I keep forgetting to add these. Stephenie Meyer's brilliant mind created the Twilight universe, I just took her idea and ran with it sticking a girl of my own making into her world and making it her home.**

**28. Pregnancy Woes and Pack Kids**

I got up running immediately to the bathroom as I did every morning with the familiar churning in my stomach. I found out really quickly that whoever coined the term morning sickness should really be shot because I really wished I only felt this way in the mornings. No, I wasn't that lucky; I was one of the lucky ladies who lived in a constant state of discomfort from the nagging nausea all day long with it finally backing off around eight at night.

After dry heaving for a few minutes only to result in the spitting of some bitter yellow bile into the toilet, I pulled myself off the floor going directly to the bathroom sink to wash my face and brush my teeth before walking back to the bed and climbing into bed next to a blissfully sleeping Seth who I felt far too envious of, pulling out my journal to add a new entry. I started the journal the day that I found out I was pregnant, not wanting to miss a thing and wanting to be able to go back later and savor every moment. Of course, that was before the morning sickness really kicked in making me feel like crap.

_Day 31, December 10__th_

_Well the day started off the same way again…dry heaving until my body finally gave up. I hate 'morning sickness' or should I say 'all day long sickness' with a passion. I know my little man that is growing inside of me is totally worth it, but man oh man would I give my right arm not to puke up everything I eat or have the smell of my favorite foods send me running for the nearest bathroom. And I'm telling you right now if I have to hear one more woman tell me about how 'she never suffered through morning sickness and she thinks it's just a myth' I will literally string her up by her toes and use her as a piñata! Ha,ha,ha…I have Seth's Louisville Slugger sitting over in that closet right now just itching to get a crack at one of them!_

_Okay, rant over, I promise. I'm just grateful that Sue and Leah both understand…especially poor Leah. She had horrific issues with morning sickness when she was pregnant with the twins. I can't believe Harry and Suzie are already three! Time flies by so quickly. Anyway, Leah keeps sending me books and links to websites about early pregnancy and motherhood. It's so great to see her so excited about her nephew. She's a great mom and she's going to be a fantastic aunt. I'm so glad that having Danny in her life opened up these possibilities for her. Who would have thought that the bitter girl I met nearly eight years ago could have such a totally different life now? It just goes to show how much life can give you if you open up to the possibilities. _

_Sue has been so great too. She's been so excited. She's already bought a ton of baby clothes and toys and she even went online and ordered me these things called Preggie Pops that are sour little suckers that claim to ward off morning sickness and they surprisingly do seem to help some. Nothing will take the queasiness away completely, but even just a little relief is nice. Charlie's been really cute about everything too. He's crazy about Leah's kids and is excited to be a PaPa again. He missed out on so much with Nessie because of how quickly that she matured, and he hasn't gotten to see nearly as much of Sarina as he would like, but he's really enjoyed Harry and Suzie and I'm willing to bet he's going to fall in love with our little guy too. _

_Well, I guess I should end here for now. I need to get up and go get dressed for the day. The pack kids have actually been so sweet about it all so far. After Seth returned from California and we shared the news with Sue and Leah it spread through the tribe before we could even get ourselves back home. The next morning at school Isaiah Call met me at my car insisting on carrying in my messenger bag to my classroom and opening all of the doors for me. Sadie Uley was nearly as bad…she insisted that I eat her sack lunch because, and I quote, "Who knows what those lunch ladies do to the cafeteria food or what they use for meat. For all you know you're eating toxic waste and cat!" I laughed so hard I nearly cried before trying my best to refuse, but she would not let up so I finally gave in insisting I pay for her school lunch so she didn't go hungry. Man do I ever love these kids!_

_Well...tomorrow is our first doctor's appointment and we will get to see our little man for the first time on a sonogram. Is it possible that I'm already at the eight week point? In some ways it seems like it's been forever and in others it seems like it's only been a couple of days. I know there won't be much to see, but I can't wait to see his little heart beating! Anyway, if I don't have more to update tonight then I definitely will tomorrow…_

I re-read what I had written quickly before sliding out of bed again and making my way back into the bathroom to turn on the shower and let it warm up. As I stepped under the warm spray my mind wandered over the past couple of months and particularly the day that Seth returned.

I was so excited to see him and I wanted to do something very special. I dug into the back of my closet to pull out the sultry blue dress I had only worn a few times and laid it out on the bed knowing that I wanted to wear it one last time for Seth before I started to show and wouldn't be able to anymore. Heck who knew if I'd ever be able to wear it again. I had always heard that a woman's body changes after having children and is never quite the same again. I sighed and then pulled out the heels eyeing them speculatively. I was still very early in the pregnancy and would probably be fine, but I didn't want to risk anything. After a few minutes of contemplation I sighed and placed them back in the closet choosing to go barefoot instead. I chuckled when the thought crossed my mind that if he said anything I would make some sort of crack about being barefoot and pregnant and tease him about how it probably thrilled him on some level.

When Seth walked in the front door he had a wide excited smile on his face that got even bigger when he saw me perched on the kitchen counter waiting for him. Our new house was set up quite a bit differently from our first house, but the kitchen was still easily seen from the front door, so it made my plan even more perfect. He dropped his bags and crossed the room grasping my face in his hands and kissing me lovingly.

"Hi Sexy Mommy," he said with a smirk and a wink.

"Hey there yourself Sexy Daddy!"

"I have something for you," he said with an excited twinkle in his eyes as his hands danced up and down my thighs. I could see the dark desire in the back of his eyes, but the twinkle of his excitement was taking dominance over his baser instincts.

"Oh Yeah?"

"Stay right there," he said tapping my nose with his right index finger with a glow on his face. He turned and jogged over to his bags ripping open the front zipper of his carry on bag and pulled out a small square present wrapped in shiny blue wrapping paper. He turned and jogged quickly back to his place in front of me and laid the present on my lap.

I looked up at him with a suspicious smile as I drew my lower lip between my teeth and began peeling away the wrapping paper. I tipped open the small velvet box to see a brand new charm for my bracelet. It was a shiny silver heart that said I Love Mommy in the center with tiny diamonds lining the outer edge.

"Oh Seth, it's beautiful, thank you!" He smiled and pulled the arm that I always wore my charm bracelet on up and carefully clipped the new charm in place next to the charm that represented himself.

"Beautiful," Seth whispered as he kissed my wrist and then began trailing kisses up my arm and across my shoulder and collarbone before traveling up my neck and chin to find my lips.

"I love you in this dress. I'm glad you decided to wear it one last time before the little guy makes it impossible," he whispered into my ear as he nibbled the tender lobe delicately before spreading my legs and wrapping them around his waist before lifting me off the counter and carrying me down the hallway to our bedroom.

A few hours later we were showered and climbed into my car to drive over to Sue and Charlie's to share the good news. The expression on Sue's face was priceless as we told her our great news. First she squealed at a decibel that rivaled Alice herself before jumping off the couch and hopping up and down from one foot to the other while clapping her hands as she turned to Charlie.

"Another grandbaby to spoil…I'm so excited! Charlie, we need to go shopping tomorrow morning to buy the baby's first blanket and a toy of some sort!"

It was a tradition that Sue started the day she found out she was having Leah and continued when she got pregnant with Seth and when Leah announced the impending arrival of the twins. She would buy a special blanket for the baby that she would have embroidered with the day that his or her existence was made known to the family along with a message and also a stuffed animal of some sort which would be the baby's first toy.

I thought it was such a sweet tradition and I absolutely loved Seth's baby blanket. I loved it so much that I had it framed and hung it on the wall in our bedroom to continually remind him of his parent's love. His blanket was a silky white with black embroidery. It said _January 12, 1990, Today I found out you are here inside me and already I love you more than you can imagine. No matter where you go in life and what you become, know that you will forever be my child and will forever have my love. _

The first time I saw Seth's blanket it brought tears to my eyes. Right then and there I knew that I wanted to make sure that my child understood from the very beginning of his or her existence, that no matter what, I would love that child more than life. It was from that idea that I chose to begin my pregnancy journal after leaving Sue and Charlie's house that night as my own way to show that love to the precious little one growing inside me.

I jumped out of the shower and quickly dried myself off and wrapping the towel around my torso before returning to our bedroom to find a half awake Seth sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked up at me with a devious smile before standing and stalking toward me.

"You know, I hate waking up without you next to me. Any way I could convince you to make it up to me?"

I smiled at him and shook my head. "Sorry baby, but I'm running behind, and even if I wasn't I'm not feeling particularly sexy right now with the boiling stomach acids and all."

He looked at me with a furrowed brow his eyes full of concern before pulling me into a hug and rubbing my back. It was hard to get used to how cool he felt now when he would hug me and hold me closely since he had stopped phasing. It broke my heart when he forced himself to stop a year ago after we decided to have children. I knew he loved running in his wolf form so much, but he insisted that we were now approximately the same physical age and he wanted to grow old with me and it was time to retire his furry tan alter ego.

There were benefits to him giving up the phasing. He was around more now that he no longer had to patrol, which wasn't too hard on us since he would do his best to take shifts while I was at work so he could be home when I was. We also no longer needed to have an air conditioner running full blast directly over our bed in the summers to keep me comfortable. But the best part of all was the fact that our intimate life also improved since I didn't grow overheated nearly as quickly with the lack of additional heat. It only took a few weeks before he admitted that the intimacy benefits alone were well worth giving up his wolfy speed.

"Would you like me to go make you some toast and chamomile tea to help settle your stomach before you have to go in?"

I smiled up at him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you sweetheart, but no, I'll be fine, but I do have to get going. I have a tutoring session with Paul and Rachel's daughter, Becky, in half an hour and it will look pretty bad if the teacher is late!"

"Okay sweetheart." He placed a sweet kiss on my temple and squeezed me tight against him one more time before releasing me and heading down the hall. As I pulled my slacks and dress shirt out of the closet to get dressed I heard the familiar hum of Seth's desktop computer spinning up in the office. I dressed quickly and dried my hair taking a few minutes to throw on powder foundation, lip gloss and eye liner before poking my head into his office to say goodbye and running out to the car to rush to school.

I walked into my classroom to find Becky already sitting there with her big brother Will and Levi Uley sitting next to her talking quietly. When I walked into the room they all looked up at me and smiled as I saw them all together. The wonders of imprinting never ceased to amaze me. Levi and Becky had grown up all of their lives together, but it wasn't until after Levi started phasing and then a few years later Becky hit puberty that the imprinting happened, much to the dismay of both of their parents. Hormonal teenagers are hard enough to keep under control, but hormonal teenagers unconditionally devoted to one another and know beyond all doubt that they are soul mates are like Romeo and Juliet on speed…always mushy and impossible to separate.

"Mrs. C," Levi yelled standing up to greet me with a big smile, "we gave Beck here a ride and thought we'd stop in and see how our favorite teacher is doing these days!"

I smiled, Levi and Will had been the biggest troublemakers in the school when Seth and I moved to town and I took over the English classes. Thankfully by then Levi's school boy crush on me had mostly ended although there were some mornings when I noticed him avoiding my gaze and blushing slightly and I knew that Seth had let another memory slip while he and Levi happened to be phased at the same time. Talk about embarrassing!

Once I took over the classes though, the boys seemed to straighten out immediately. Even their other teachers commented on how much better they behaved in their other classes as well. I was very proud when after a few weeks and a few stern pep talks, their grades began to improve and they actually managed to graduate on time in spite of their less than spectacular academic performance in the past and of course their patrol schedule that no other school personalities really knew about besides me and one other teacher who happened to be an imprint as well. Outside of the immediate pack members and their families, the legends were just that as far as the rest of the tribe members were concerned.

"I'm good Levi. Have you been keeping out of trouble? Have you been staying safe?" My expression changed to serious with the last question and he knew exactly what I was hinting at.

"Yes, Mrs. C. I've been keeping my nose clean and I haven't seen any dangerous things in months."

"Good, you be careful boys," I continued locking eyes with Will now as well, "I know you're all strong, grown up men now, but you still need to be cautious."

They both smiled at me warmly with twinkles in their eyes. They knew I cared about all of the pack boys and kids and I always meant every word of caution I shared. "We will Mrs. C."

I set down my things and grabbed my teacher's edition of the Grammar textbook and made my way to the back of the room where Becky was waiting at the long table. "Well boys…It was really great to see you, but Becky and I need to get to work if we're going to get through this assignment before the bell rings."

"Alright Mrs. C. You take care…oh and congratulations on the baby!" Levi said as he and Will disappeared through the doorway.

"Okay Miss Becky, lets see how you did…" Becky and I went over the assignment and finished just in time for the first warning bell for morning classes.

The morning went pretty quickly and after a quick lunch in the cafeteria with the kids where I tried not to gag at the smell of the mass produced meat loaf, I shuffled to the Jr. High wing to do my afternoon courses. The Jr. High kids were even more nosey than the High Schoolers and I got a kick out of how excited they all were. Seth was always a big hit with all of the pack kids. He really was young at heart and really connected with them in a way that some of the older members were never able to, of course a lot of the original members from before I was born had all retired now, with Seth being the last of the original eight pack members to step down.

I was walking out to my car at the end of the day when the girl who continued to be my favorite pack baby (next to my Sarina and the twins of course) came running up to me to give me a hug and say hi. Violet was now a beautiful and sweet eight year old that still tended to squeal when she would see me. Vi usually made a point of finding me when she had either had a really good day or a really bad day. Today happened to be a really good day.

"Mrs. Clearwater, Mrs. Clearwater, guess what?" She said as she ran toward me with her black pigtails dancing behind her.

"Hey there Vi, what's up?" I asked as she flew into my arms.

"I won the spelling bee today! I get to go to Forks next week for regionals and if I win there then I get to go to Seattle!"

"Wow sweetheart," I replied wrapping my arms tightly around her shoulders, "I'm so proud of you! Congratulations!"

She beamed up at me as she told me all about the words they gave her and how it came down to a face off between her and Brady's daughter Bailey, but she tripped up on the word confusion and then Vi got was asked to try the word and she got it right and the next word which happened to be victorious. I listened to her with delight as she shared every dramatic detail before her mother finally walked over smiling.

"Violet Ann Brown, you need to let go of Mrs. Clearwater and let her get back home now that you've told her your entire life story."

Vi pouted up at me and I smiled squeezing her one more time before looking over at her mother laughing.

"It's okay Lily. I love Vi's stories." I looked down at Violet with a proud smile. "Good luck at Forks! You go show those kids how smart our reservation kids are okay?"

She beamed up at me, "Okay Mrs. Clearwater!" She happily trotted off into the waiting arms of her mother who gave her a big hug as she raved about how proud she was of her daughter and when I went to open the car door I realized I had been unconsciously rubbing my stomach.

I looked down and smiled as I whispered, "I love you little one. You already make me proud." With that I climbed back into my car annoyed at the fact that I had tears streaming down my face. I was crying at the drop of a hat these days, damn these pregnancy hormones. I sighed and wiped my eyes before putting Eleanor into gear and making my way home to my waiting husband.

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Author's Note: See…I told you once I got past the big skip things would sail a bit more smoothly for a while and I wouldn't make you wait so long.

_**Thanks to my Beta Mel for getting this back so fast with a couple of cool ideas for me to incorporate. **_

_**Hope you enjoyed the pack kids and poor Lina's pregnancy woes. She's getting a taste of what Nessie went through, I guess we'll see if she takes it all with a bit more grace…or maybe not. **_

_**Thanks for all of your faves/alerts/reviews. You guys are awesome and so supportive. **_

_**Seeing as how I have lots of ideas floating in my head for the next chapter, I'm guessing it will be up before too terribly long. **_

_**Thanks for reading and please take time to review!!**_


	29. Blurry Beans

**Author's Note: This one is a lot shorter than most, but the next chapter will be a jump from there so I didn't want to combine them. Enjoy this fluffy little ditty that I really wanted to fit in and hopefully I'll have a longer chapter for you early next week. Thanks for the favorites/alerts/reviews!**

**Disclaimer: As always…I don't own Twilight…but if you're interested enough to be reading the fanfic for it, then you already knew that.**

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29. Blurry Beans

I woke up beyond excited, so much so that it took a good five minutes before my morning sickness kicked in and left me running for the bathroom for my morning ritual of emptying my stomach of the nonexistent contents before washing my face and brushing my teeth. Seth was just as excited as I was and then was sweet enough to follow me into the bathroom and hold my hair while I heaved into the toilet and had the wet washcloth waiting for me when I was done.

When I tried to convince him that it wasn't necessary he interrupted me with a sweet smile and a kiss on the forehead. "Angel, you're doing all of the heavy lifting here growing our baby inside you and suffering all of the ill effects, the least I can do is hold your hair out of the way and get you a wash cloth."

I hugged myself to his chest and relished in the calming effect his presence had on my body. Being close to him was far superior to the helpfulness of the Preggie pops, but alas it was not plausible for me to be wrapped in his arms twenty-four seven, so I had to make do with whatever I could.

"The appointment is at three thirty right?"

"Yep," I replied emphasizing the p.

"Well, how about I pick you up from school and then we can pick up your car on the way back home?"

I smiled up at him with a contented sigh, "That would be wonderful."

He smiled down at me before placing a kiss on my forehead. "Hey, do you think you're going to feel like eating afterward? Maybe we could grab some supper while we're out and catch a movie or something afterward to celebrate."

"I have no clue how I'll be feeling by then, but a nice date night sounds wonderful!"

He chuckled and got a twinkle in his eye before finally giving my nose one last peck before releasing me to finish getting ready to face my day.

The school day seemed to drag by as I answered a gazillion questions about the sonogram and how I was feeling. As usual the pack kids took a bit too much interest drilling me on how I've been eating and whether I've been getting enough rest. I couldn't help but laugh at them and the fact that they were almost more overbearing about such things than my own husband was.

The last hour seemed to last forever as I watched over a study hall with absolutely nothing to occupy my time besides looking forward to my impending appointment. There was a part deep inside of me that was nervous that something might still go wrong. Early pregnancy is so volatile and is when you are most likely to miscarry, so in spite of my dreams that told me I would have two babies some day, I still found myself concerned that something might go wrong. Just because I saw two babies didn't mean that there might have been some issues prior to conceiving the little ones that I saw.

I took a deep breath trying to quell my growing fears and reminding myself of the advice I had given Nessie when she found out she was pregnant. Positive thinking is key. I had to have faith that everything would be fine. I already was completely in love with the tiny being growing inside me, and I needed to stay positive that he would be fine.

Finally, after what seemed like the most torturous hour of my life, the bell rang and the kids rushed out of the room with me hot on their trail. I rushed out the side door to find Seth leaning against his car with a wide smile waiting for me.

"Hey there sexy momma!" He winked at me and shot me a sexy little smirk before standing up and opening the door for me. "You ready to go see our little one?"

I tipped up to place a quick kiss on his lips before smiling and sliding into the passenger seat of his Camry as he closed and crossed to the other side of the door. Fifteen minutes later we were sitting in the doctor's office waiting for my name to be called.

I fidgeted with my purse in my lap as my right knee bounced nervously. Seth smiled at me sweetly before reaching over and placing a soft calming hand on my knee stilling it while taking his other hand to grab one of mine and pulling it to his lips where he kissed it gently. "Calm down sweetheart. Everything is going to be fine."

Hearing his calm voice, feeling the soothing sensations coming to me through his touch, and looking into his eyes, I slowly began to relax as the tension melted from my frame leaving behind only the anticipation. Suddenly sitting there looking into his eyes, I had faith in our future. I smiled over at him squeezing his hand that held mine and resting my head on his shoulder.

My head only sat there for a minute or two when a lady dressed in teal scrubs opened the door and called my name. Seth and I stood and walked over where she shook our hands and introduced herself as Mary, the ultrasound technician who would be doing our scan today. She looked from me to Seth and then back to me again with a knowing smile. "First timers?"

We laughed and nodded as she led us to a door halfway up the hallway. "Oh, well don't you worry. Things will go as smooth as can be, just you wait and see." She was a tall lady with blonde hair streaked with gray and kind light blue eyes. "On the table I left a gown and blanket for you. This first sonogram requires in internal sensor so you will need to strip the bottom half of your body completely down and sit on the table with the blanket draped over you and I will check in a few minutes to see if you are situated and then we will start."

I nodded and she smiled before leaving the room. I excitedly stripped down as ordered and put on the gown and draped the blanket across my lap and sat on the edge of the exam table in anticipation. Seth sat next to me in the chair smiling at me and chuckling every once in a while when I would start bouncing in my spot saying I was reminding him of Alice.

A few minutes there was knock on the door and the technician cracked the door asking if I was ready and then came in with a smile when I told her I was. She came over and pulled the ultrasound machine over to me pulling a long stick-like thing from the top of machine and squirting blue gel over the top as she explained that this early in the pregnancy the uterus is too low to use the external sensors from the outside.

She was very gentle and talked me through the process as she had me lay back and place my feet into stirrups to position myself for the exam. Seth took my hand as he scooted closer to me running his free hand through my hair comfortingly. I winced at the uncomfortable feeling as the cool wand was slid into place and the uncomfortable pressure it placed on my cervix as she pushed against it with the sensor.

My discomfort was short lived however when she smiled and said, "Ah, there it is." Seth and I both audibly gasped as we looked at the blurry black and white monitor as she pointed at a tiny thing that looked sort of like a kidney bean with a flashing spot in the middle of it. She pointed as she explained that the flash was the baby's heart and then she focused the instrument and changed modes flipping on the speakers as we heard the fast thrum of the baby's heartbeat that matched the tempo of the flash on the screen.

In that moment so many emotions filled my body as I watched the tiny flash on the screen that proved that my baby was alive and safely growing within me. I felt Seth squeeze my hand at the same moment that the screen began to blur thanks to the tears pooling in my eyes.

The technician allowed us to continue to hear the steady beat of our son's heart as she went about the task of taking measurements declaring that the baby was in fact measuring eight weeks gestation and that my projected due date of July twenty ninth. She printed off a few pictures off of the sonogram machine of our baby bean and then asked us to return to the waiting room until the nurse called us back for our appointment to see Dr. Keller.

She left the room to allow me to dress and as soon as she was gone Seth pulled me up into a passionate kiss.

"Thank you, Angel. Thank you for loving me and for giving me a baby. It's so amazing! I love you so much."

I giggled and kissed him back. "Thank you for being a loving husband and doing the things with me that allowed me to give you a baby." He chuckled and held me for another moment before releasing me and allowing me to get dressed.

We sat in the waiting room staring in awe at the black and white pictures of our tiny miracle. We were so engrossed in the pictures that we didn't even hear the nurse call my name the first time. I blushed when I realized she was trying to get my attention.

We followed her into a small room where she weighed me before taking me to an exam room where I once again had to change into a gown and then she came back and took my blood pressure and asked a variety of questions and then she left us to wait for Dr. Keller.

Once Dr. Keller finally entered the room, I was immediately struck with how friendly and dependable she seemed. She patiently answered all of the questions that both Seth and I and really sat and talked to us about what we should expect and the things I needed to be doing for the baby and myself.

Forty minutes later we left the office feeling much better about everything, now even more excited about the little life growing inside of me and what I needed to be doing to keep us both safe.

Seth was so wonderful and attentive the rest of the evening. He asked if I thought I could handle supper and I told him that I was actually feeling pretty good at the moment and supper sounded great. We ate a light meal at an Italian restaurant where Seth kept taking my hand throughout the meal and kissing my wedding ring telling me how much he loved me.

After dinner we caught a romantic movie at the local theater before going home where Seth immediately went to the kitchen grabbing a box of saltines out of the cupboard and placing them on my bedside table for me to eat the next morning before I even sat up as the doctor had suggested. I went into the office to scan the sonogram pictures into the computer and emailed them out to our friends and family before taking them back downstairs and hanging them on the refrigerator.

The rest of the evening we kept getting random calls beginning with my family and Sue and Leah and then later from various pack members as they got our message. Everyone was very happy for us. As the calls continued to come in Seth led me to sit with him on the couch where he pulled me to lean against him in front of the warm fire a he wrapped us both securely in the blanket from the back of the couch, rubbing my back occasionally. Eventually we ended up falling asleep together on the couch content to be in each other's arms. There were three dominant feeling that I could feel coming off of Seth as I drifted off to sleep in his arms, love, contentment, and peace.


	30. Cruel Cosmic Jokes

**Author's Note: This chapter is a bit different. I wanted to cover several weeks in one foul swoop and what better way than five journal entries. Hope you enjoy them and get as big of a kick out of them as my beta Mel did. Sad part is that almost all of the pregnancy issues are based on reality…and I went through it all twice! LOL! Hope you enjoy!**

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30. Cruel Cosmic Jokes

_**Day 45, December 24**_

Well it's Christmas Eve and I can't help but laugh at the cruel cosmic joke that is pregnancy. I have always loved Christmas and look forward all year long to the dishes that are reserved for this special holiday. This being so, imagine my dismay when I was forced to run gagging from Sue's house this morning when the smells of Christmas dinner preparations that normally cause my mouth to water appreciatively instead made my stomach boil. It's so unfair!

_On the plus side, I'm so pleased to have my whole family in one place for once. My parents and siblings came to town this morning with Sarina in tow, as did Danny, Leah, and the twins. It's been so nice to have everyone together again. If I'm not mistaken this is the first time we have all been able to be together at one time since our wedding. _

_I have also taken my families trip as an opportunity to try to convince my family to move a little closer, or maybe even back to the area while staying more under the radar and giving Sarina the chance to go to school at the reservation. You couldn't ask for a better opportunity for her. She would be surrounded by mostly pack kids who have already accepted her openly into the fold and I would be nearby if she needed me. She's even already all set with a best friend. Sarina and Vi are thick as thieves when Sarina comes to visit. I hope they take it under consideration because to be quite honest, I worry about Sarina's social development. I know that their concern about her safety is paramount, but the poor girl needs to be able to be around kids her own age, and there is no safer opportunity for her to do that than to go to a school heavily guarded by shape shifters designed to protect innocents from vampires that wish them harm. _

_I can't wait to celebrate tonight with the whole family. I cannot begin to express the joy in my heart to have them all with me…I only hope that I can make it through dinner without any digestive pyrotechnics._

_**Day 52 December 31**_

_It's New Year's Eve and another year is about to be completed and what a year it has been. I find it so amazing to think that this time next year our little one will be with us. In the meantime, we are celebrating with my family tonight. _

_Everyone heads home tomorrow which makes me sad, but I'm pleased to announce that Jake and Nessie informed me last night that they have decided to take me up on my suggestion and move back to the area so that Sarina can attend the reservation school. Unfortunately, the rest of the family thinks that it would be difficult to be able to come back with them just yet, but are looking into options a little south of here so that they can be closer. _

_From what I understand Edward and Bella aren't taking the news very well, but are accepting of the fact that Sarina is Jake and Nessie's child and they must defer their parental authority. I think they are pushing for the move closer as soon as vampirically possible. (hee,hee)_

_In other more pregnancy related news, my cravings have kicked in a bit this week which is another highly unfortunate cosmic joke because so far it has already caused me to lose my taste for Chinese food and tacos by having me indulge in a craving only to have it revisit me shortly afterward. All I can say is that I pray that the books are right and my morning sickness subsides during my second trimester or I'm going to be ready to kill someone!_

_Also Alice was a little too excited to notice that I was no longer able to squeeze into my work clothes, so two days ago she took me on an insane shopping trip. I don't even want to know how much money she spent, but let's just say, I now have enough maternity clothes to dress two pregnant women for a full year. _

_The bad thing is that right now I'm sort of in between clothes. I'm not really big enough to wear the maternity stuff yet, but my regular clothes don't fit anymore. This means that now I'm walking around all day pulling my pants up because they keep sliding down or fighting with the stupid strings that you tie to hold the waist of the pants up if I tie them tight enough for the pants not to fall. This has proven to be particularly difficult when I really need to pee and end up accidentally pulling the loop into a knot instead of untying it. I've barely dodged peeing my pants twice now thanks to that lovely situation! Seth thought it was hilarious, until I threatened him…_

_I'm a bit nervous about going back to school. Thankfully I was able to deal with nausea in the classroom fairly efficiently and only had to run out once to get sick so far, but this whole pregnant bladder thing may end up being a lot more difficult to keep in check. I've had to pee at least three times an hour all week long. It's ridiculous and really not conducive to a classroom environment where I'm stuck in a room for a full hour at a time and am technically not supposed to leave the students unattended. _

_**Day 59 January 7**_

_Jake, Nessie, and Sarina got back just in time for school to start and today was Sarina's first day at the reservation school. I couldn't help but find myself nervous for her and found myself sneaking across the street to check in on her four different times throughout the day. Each time she seemed to be having the time of her life. I'm so pleased that she's found somewhere that she can fit in and have a social life outside of the family. _

_At the end of the day she and Violet both ran up to me in the parking lot hugging me around the waist as Sarina thanked me profusely for suggesting she go to school here because she loves it. I laughed and watched as the two girls hugged one another goodbye before Sarina climbed into the car with me to go home. Since I have to be at school early most days for tutoring and staff meetings, we agreed to have Jake or Nessie drop her off and then I would bring her home at the end of the day. _

_Okay, so in pregnancy news, I have to say that my body is so strange. I have the insatiable urge to eat copious amounts of large dill pickles like you find at a fair. I found that a grocery store in Port Angeles sells these huge 5-gallon jars of those pickles and I can't believe how many of them I have been eating! I have already gone through one jar in the past week and sent Seth back for another jar two days ago. The strangest part is when eating that many pickles would cause a normal person to feel sick, even with the morning sickness they don't bother me at all! I know at my next appointment I will probably get a lecture about them having too much salt, but heck if they are the one thing I can eat without suffering the negative after effects then I'm not going to deny myself! By the way this is week 12, only two more weeks until my second trimester begins. _

_Nessie has been teasing me about my mood swings and the fact that she thinks I might just end up being worse than she was. If so then God help us all, and in particular Seth. I remember quite well exactly how taxing her mood swings were on everyone around her, but at least I won't be surrounded by a poor vampire who has to feel it all with me! Poor Jasper, I bet he's relieved he doesn't live nearby at this point!_

_**Day 72 January 21**_

_Today I officially enter my second trimester thank heaven! I was hoping that my morning sickness would magically vanish today, but no such luck. Hopefully it will abandon me soon and allow me to enjoy food a little more again. In other news, my pregnancy is going well. My blood pressure is good, but the doctor warned me that if they start seeing it go up they will be putting me on a low sodium diet so I might want to cut back before I force them to do it to me. She really, really doesn't like my pickle obsession. She also told me at my appointment yesterday that we will be doing another sonogram in 12 weeks and if the baby cooperates we can confirm the sex. I'm pretty confident in my dreams, but I still think it's a good idea to confirm._

_We've been looking at baby name books lately trying to decide on a name. We're also picking out girl names too just in case. It's not like the effort will be wasted since we'll be ending up with one of each eventually anyway. Unfortunately the baby naming hasn't gone very smoothly so far. Seth and I can't seem to agree on any names. We decided right away that we weren't going to name our kids after our family because there was just no way to do it without leaving somebody out or picking some of the ridiculous names that Emmett spouted out while Nessie was pregnant. There definitely shall be no Emjasperlisleward or Esmalbellie Clearwaters thank you very much! _

_Personally I like Dylan, but Seth says that reminds him of dill pickles which then led to jokes about not naming our children after food either. Seth however hasn't thrown out any suggestions yet which was getting a little frustrating, while simultaneously shooting down Dakota, Tristan, and Sebastian sighting that any boy with a name that sounds like he should be the main character in a harlequin romance would end up being the laughing stock of the res. I know we have lots of time, but I really want to have something to call him besides "the baby" and "the bean"._

_**Day 78 January 27**_

_Thank you Lord In Heaven! I woke up this morning and didn't feel the need to rush straight to the bathroom! Matter of fact, I made it the whole day through without getting green around the gills! About stinking time! _

_Seth is such a sweet, sweet, wonderful kind and forgiving husband. I'm not exactly sure what is wrong with me (beyond the obvious) but I've been biting his poor head off left and right all week long. He can't seem to do anything right. _

_It's hard to explain, but it's kind of like in our normal day to day lives there are little tiny things that every person gets annoyed with that they just let slide, like you prefer the toilet paper to be put on the dispenser with the end going over the top of the roll, but you never know what direction the roll will pull when you go to sit down because the other person doesn't care. _

_On a normal day you use the toilet paper and go on. No biggie. But when you're pregnant it's like your hormones just won't allow you to let it go. So instead of just accepting it and going about your business and moving on with your life it sends you into a total rage that you must get off your chest and discuss with your poor unsuspecting husband immediately. _

_The worst part is, your life is filled to the brim with these little insignificant things that you never realized before, and so you find yourself constantly barking at your poor defenseless husband about one of a zillion pet peeves all day long. I don't know how he hasn't thrown up his hands and moved in with his mom and Charlie yet to be totally honest…but my sweet and loving husband instead has taken the initiative to go overboard with trying to make me happy. _

_He's even taken more than one late night trip to Port Angeles or Forks to get me whatever random item I've been craving in the wee hours of the morning. The most recent was an irrational need for those big round old-fashioned lollipops that they sell at a bookstore in Port Angeles. I found at five am that I desperately desired a strawberry flavored one, and my sweet wonderful Seth drove all the way there and slept in his car until the bookstore opened and showed up just in time for me to eat it before my first class started that morning. Then the poor guy ended up holding me for ten minutes while I cried tears of joy and appreciation for him while I ate the lollipop._

_One other great positive of the second trimester is that I got my libido back. I would hear people talking about being sex crazed during pregnancy during my first trimester and I couldn't help but stare at them all as though they had a three heads, unable to even begin to fathom wanting sex while I was feeling all pukey and miserable…but lately as the feelings have been tapering off I had noticed that they were so right. I'm totally distracted with thoughts of Seth all of the time. It's ridiculous…but at least he gets to reap at least one benefit of pregnancy hormones to make up for all of the rest! Speaking of…it's time for bed…wink, wink, nudge, nudge, RAWR! (Note to self…NEVER let our son read this journal!)_

I read over my entry and laughed at myself before putting it away and walking into the office where I promptly seduced Seth into bed. Now this was a trimester that I knew I was really going to like!

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Please review…do you have some particularly funny pregnancy stories to share? Put them in a review or PM me. I'd love to hear that I wasn't the only insane pregnant woman out there. P.S. I did embellish a little bit for comedic effect, but the principle was still there. I never yelled at my hubby for the toilet paper, but it seriously was like I was PMSing all the time and there were a zillion tiny things that always annoyed me that I just kept to myself that bubbled to the surface. Thankfully my hubby is very laid back and didn't take my constantly nagging to heart. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed! Thanks for reading!


	31. Second Trimester Relief

**Disclaimer: You know Twilight belongs to Stephenie. But Lina is all mine ;)**

**31. Second Trimester Relief**

My second trimester was so great! After feeling like the walking dead for three months between the nausea, vomiting, and exhaustion, my second trimester made me feel like I could conquer the world. I had energy and could eat pretty much anything my little heart desired that wasn't against the rules without too much repercussion. I did have occasional heartburn, but with the help of a couple of tums and I was good as gold.

It was around this time that my obsession began better known as nesting. Suddenly I couldn't get prepared for the coming baby fast enough. I had my mother hard at work designing the nursery and had Alice on nursery shopping duty, while I spent every available moment of free time, reading up on what to expect throughout the last of my pregnancy and the first few years of life. When this baby arrived I was determined to be an expert. Seth was so adorable. He supported me whole-heartedly and would even sit with me most nights and read along side me.

In the spirit of being prepared for the baby's arrival, I had been anxiously awaiting our twenty week anatomy sonogram and today was the day I had been anticipating, the confirmation of the baby's sex so we could proceed with the nursery and get everything set up as soon as possible. I was practically bouncing in my seat with excitement as Seth and Sue laughed at me. We had invited Sue along thinking that she might enjoy seeing her grandbaby for the first time with us.

If my family lived closer I would have had them all with us as well, but while Mom had made several visits to the area over that past five months, she only recently found a suitable place for the family to relocate to and they had just closed on the property last week and would be moving in sometime in the next several days. Having grown impatient with the process, Bella and Edward had temporarily moved in with Jake and Nessie so they could be near Sarina in the meantime.

Finally they called us into the room and I was grateful that this time I would be able to have the regular tummy sonogram. I had quite a bit of a baby bump now and had begun to feel the little butterfly flutters of the baby inside me only a few weeks before. We were all smiles as the tech had me sit on the table and pulled my shirt up and pants down to expose my stomach and squirt the cold blue gel on my stomach. Before placing the sensor over the swell of my stomach and pushing down moving it back and forth over my stomach as the screen blurred before she stopped and my breath caught in my chest as I sat staring at the perfect profile of my little baby. I felt Seth grab my hand and kiss my forehead as we both stared in awe at the monitor, our smiles widening when we saw our little one move and then bring his hand to his mouth as he began to suck on his thumb.

The tech took a few pictures before she went about the task of making measurements on head circumference and spinal length but before she was done our little stinker rolled over onto his stomach and fell asleep effectively keeping the technician from being able to get the view of the baby's heart that she needed and also effectively blocking the area that would tell us for sure that he really was a he. She tried for a little while to coerce him to wake up and roll over, but he absolutely refused.

"He sleeps like you do," Seth jokes from next to me and I chuckled and smacked him across the arm. I was a little disappointed not to have the mystery solved for certain, but I couldn't be too upset…it had been absolutely amazing to actually see him moving inside of me and to know that the technician said that from what she could see everything looked perfect.

We met with the doctor who scheduled another sonogram in four more weeks wanting to verify the heart structures that we hadn't been able to confirm today, also giving us another opportunity to confirm the baby's sex.

Once we were finished, the three of us gushed all the way home about how amazing it all was as Sue went on about how far obstetrics has come since she had Leah and Seth. When we got home we immediately scanned the sonograms sending out a mass email to our friends and family with a message informing them of our child's tendency for heavy sleeping keeping us from confirming the sex. Then we printed out copies for me to take to school with me the next day while placing the originals in the lock box for safe keeping.

The next morning I had a wide smile as I walked into school, fully expecting the ambush awaiting me when I stepped inside. I wasn't disappointed. The second I stepped into my classroom to set up for the day, all of the pack kids were there asking how the sonogram went and what we found out. I laughed as I pulled out the sonogram pictures as they passed them around talking about how cute the baby was going to be and suggesting we name him after each one of them. I laughed and told them about the whole sleeping situation, which also earned quite a bit of laughter.

"You sure he's not Jacob's kid?" Isaiah Call asked with a big laugh. "That guy can sleep through anything!" With his return to the area, Jake had begun to regularly patrol with the pack and had been given back the Alpha role he was born to take. He was reluctant, but when he saw how young the average age of the pack was these days and how little practical experience they really had considering that there hadn't been much vampire activity in the area in recent years, he took over and took the time to really train them in the event that my dreams came true sooner rather than later.

I laughed and then shivered with a disgusted expression, "EW! You're talking about my brother!"

"Not really. From what I hear if it weren't for Edward he probably would have married Bella."

"Well, he didn't because that wasn't how things were meant to be…and not only that, but from the time I was four on he was my brother and even the suggestion makes my morning sickness want to rear it's ugly head, so please for the sake of my breakfast and the classroom floor, never, ever say anything like that ever again!"

Everyone laughed as Sadie and Becky took the sonogram pictures and tacked them onto the bulletin board for everyone to see. They had insisted that we create a special section of the bulletin board for baby updates, so I allowed them to do so, making them in charge of its creation and maintenance, which they took very seriously.

The rest of the day passed in its typical uneventful fashion and when I walked out of school that day to go get Sarina and make my way to my car I was pleased to find that my entire vampire family was waiting for us with smiles. Sarina was already standing in the middle of the crowd smiling up at her aunts, uncles, and grandparents. She had enjoyed being part of a school setting with her peers, but she had really, really missed the rest of the family and you could see immediately that she was now perfectly content.

I rushed toward the group getting hugs from everyone as cold hands hugged my shoulders and then would immediately go down to my stomach earning fluttering kicks from the baby.

Jasper laughed next to me, "A little somebody is excited to come out and meet all of us!"

I turned to look at him with a lifted eyebrow, "Is that conjecture or are you actually sensing the emotion?"

He furrowed his brow in concentration and then smiled widely. "Emotion, definitely emotion."

I smiled rubbing my hands comfortingly over my stomach as I looked down, "Uh, uh little one. You're only half-baked…twenty more weeks for you! No coming out early, okay?"

As if to answer I felt a hard kick right under my hand and I jumped. Everyone looked at me with slightly worried expressions as I stared down with my mouth unhinged. "Wow! That was most definitely a real kick! He hasn't done that before!"

Suddenly I had nine hands covering every inch of my baby bump giving me chills as I laughed at their eagerness. As soon as I laughed I felt another hard kick right behind my bellybutton right under Sarina's hand and she jerked her hand back as her eyes grew wide and she smiled.

"He kicked me Auntie Lina! He kicked me hard!" She was practically glowing she was so excited. I smiled down at her and ran my hand through her hair.

"He sure did sweetie. I think he knows you already. After all, you have been around him quite a lot. You spend time with us every day after school and all the other times we hang out too. Besides Seth I think you've spent more time with us so far than anybody else." She beamed as she reached over and hugged Bella's waist telling her all about what it had felt like.

After a few minutes I was forced to take shelter in my car due to the rain, causing the reunion with my family to fall short. Edward and Bella took Sarina home with them as the rest of the family followed and I made my way back home with plans of going to see the new Cullen homestead after school the next day.

Two days later my parents and siblings were completely settled into their new amazing home less than half an hour south of La Push hidden discretely in the mountains. It was beautiful and actually dwarfed their former Forks residence in both size and grandeur. My mother's thought process was that she wanted to be sure that there was plenty of room for the entire family including Jake, Nessie, and Sarina, as well as Seth, the baby, and I to move in as well if the need arose.

To be honest I think she was planning in anticipation of the events of my dreams. We all tried to focus on the positives in our lives, but the shadows of my night terrors and what they foreshadowed always lingered in the back of our minds and influenced every major decision we made. Ever since Eleazar's visits began and the growing strength of my capabilities, my family no longer dismissed my dreams.

It was nice having my family back in the area, and I excitedly began making them part of my everyday life again. Jasper happily resumed my guitar lessons, I had been practicing on my own, but I still had a lot of improving to do. I also told him that even though I couldn't physically spar anymore, I wanted to work with him in learning to utilize more of my emotional control aspects of my power. I wanted to make sure that if things ended up playing out like they did in the dream I had before my wedding, I would actually have the skills to help the kids that I had displayed in my dream. I also worked with Bella and Edward hoping to acquire a level of their skills in some fashion.

The four weeks between sonograms passed very quickly, so when it was time to go in for my next appointment I felt bad when I had to tell some of my family that they couldn't come to the appointment. I was pretty certain that while two or three additional people were allowed in the room, the tech wouldn't look too kindly on having ten additional bodies in the room.

My father was working in Seattle that day, so that was an easy one down. My mother of course had to be there, it was only fair since Sue had gotten to go to the last one, which meant that there were two more spaces available. There was a bit of argument amongst the siblings but in the end Edward stepped back saying that he would be able to see it through memories, Emmett stepped back unsure of wanting to see my bare stomach and giving Rose more of a chance. In the end Bella was chosen since she was my biological sister and the final three actually drew straws to see who would come with us. Alice was made to take the last one so she couldn't cheat. I couldn't help but laugh when it ended up being Jasper who won the draw and got to come with us. When I asked him why he was so excited to come he said that he besides the fact that he wanted to, he couldn't resist such a positive emotionally charged event. I laughed and hugged him around the neck placing a kiss on his cheek. "Love you Jazz." He laughed, "Love you too Lina."

As we sat in the waiting room we got some pretty humorous looks from the other waiting patients. I had Seth and Jasper on either side of me with my Mother next to Seth and Bella next to Jasper. They were probably wondering how we all fit together and I got so tickled at some of the reactions that I actually had Jasper snickering beside me as he fed off of my emotions. When the tech called us back she blanched at the inhumanly perfect family that joined us and fumbled with the equipment as she prepared to do the scan.

The second the sensor touch my belly we were once again graced with our child's perfect profile as he pulled his hand up to the top of his head opening and closing it a couple of times as each tiny finger showed up in perfect clarity. My mom and siblings gasped in amazement as they watched the screen. Bella never got to experience this in her pregnancy and loved watching Nessie's sonograms when she was pregnant with Sarina. The tech checked the heart first pointing out each of the four chambers and noting that all was well as she took freeze frame pictures for the doctor before moving down to find the much anticipated organ that would answer our questions for good.

When the sensor reached it's destination we all laughed. You definitely didn't need any training to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this baby was a little boy. It was glaringly obviously immediately. The tech froze the screen typing boy next to the organ and printed out the picture for us before moving down to measure shin bones and taking pictures of his perfect little feet.

I was happy to know that my baby was a boy and was safe, but I couldn't help the tears that filled my eyes. Jasper looked over at me with concern as I pulled my lip between my teeth and attempted to push the tears away. As much as I was excited for this baby and what he would mean to my life, it was just one more confirmation of what was to come in our future, and not all of it would be pleasant. Most of the time I could push those ideas away and not let them interfere with my happiness, but I was not as successful in that moment. I heard Seth chuckle right after I heard a loud thump it he speakers and I looked up to see what he was laughing at just in time to see the baby swing his leg up again to kick the sensor creating another loud thump and make the screen jump.

"I take it the little guy would like his privacy back," the tech said with a smile before wiping away the gel on my stomach and helping me sit back up handing me the pictures that we had just taken.

We walked back out to the waiting room where Bella and Jasper hugged us goodbye and returned home. My mom stayed with us after my appointment insisting that we go buy the paint for the nursery when we leave so that they could finally get started putting everything together.

The doctor said that all looked good and we were right on track. We had just climbed into the car to drive home when I got a phone call from an over excited pixie who had just returned from buying one of every boy item available from her favorite baby designer. I laughed as she went on for our entire drive home describing each outfit in detail.

Finally my mother grabbed the phone giving me a break as she began to outline the things that she wanted Alice to purchase for the nursery furniture, my mother taking a short break from her conversation to order me to pack a bag for myself and Seth, so we could spend the next two nights of the weekend at their place so that I would be away from the paint fumes. I finally agreed before reluctantly giving my home over to the vampires for the weekend to take on the nursery. I knew it would be fantastic when they were finished, and I knew it would make them happy to help so I let go taking the opportunity to spend more time working with Jasper, Edward, and Bella. Even with joy of having the family I always wanted with Seth, the black cloud would continue to hover in the back of my mind, so with a family to protect I was even more determined to do all I could to protect them.

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Author's Note: First off, thank you to my Beta, Mel, for helping me round this chapter out a little better. It's been a long week and I was having a bit of a brain block that she helped me past.

**_I have heard a lot from you guys about your own experiences/friends experiences. Thanks so much for sharing…it's been fun to hear. For those of you that never got relief from your morning sickness, I'm really sorry and I'm sure you're feeling a bit envious of Lina right now. Lina's pregnancy is basically based on my first pregnancy with my son. My second pregnancy's second trimester wasn't so great…so I've been on both sides of the coin. At any rate, I hope you guys enjoyed. Next chapter will be third trimester, the following will be the birth. _**

_**Also I've been second guessing my naming ideas, so I'm going to let you guys throw out some suggestions and see if you settle my creative indecision. Review or PM me and let me know what you think. I may just give in and name him after my son if you guys don't throw out a suggestion I like better!!! Thanks for reading guys!**_


	32. Third Trimester Tribulations

**32. Third Trimester Tribulations**

The first few weeks of my third trimester were still pretty good. I still had to pee constantly but I was still more or less comfortable, although I had noticed that I was feeling warm most of the time. Nobody really warns you that once you get pregnant your body heat skyrockets and you find yourself walking around your house wearing shorts and a tank top I the dead of winter. I couldn't help but laugh when I realized that I had more and more common with the wolves while pregnant than at any other point in my life…hot blooded, hot tempered, and haunted by a voracious appetite. You know it's bad when you go to a pack get together and the boys are cringing out of your way while you reach past them to grab the last drumstick growling with more ferocity than they can muster!

Ah yes, pregnancy was definitely helping me get in touch with my own inner wolf…if only I could run like the wind while I was at it…but no, instead I get to waddle. Oh yes, as my tummy grew and grew, I had definitely acquired a waddle. It's a basic function of physics; you can't escape it no matter how hard you try. Put me in a tux and throw me in the middle of Antarctica and the Emperor penguins would probably crown me as their queen.

Also with the waddle inducing tummy, comes the inability to sleep comfortably in a bed without a cocoon of pillows. Poor Seth couldn't even come close to sleeping near me anymore because I had to have a full body pillow running across the front of my body to support my tummy and tuck between my knees, and another one tucked behind my back. At first we tried having him cuddle to my back providing me support, but it ended up leading to him not getting enough sleep because it would wake him up every time I had to get up at night to pee and then wake him up again as helped me get settled back into position with my pillows and his arms and then I would wiggle and huff for another half an hour before I was finally comfortable again. So now I didn't get to cuddle with my husband during sleepy times and I was sleep deprived, because of the constant bladder issues and pillow struggles. I tried to convince myself that it was all nature's process of slowly acclimating you to the sleepless nights ahead, but it wasn't of much comfort as I rolled out of bed for the third time of the night at four a.m.

Even considering all of those uncomfortable issues, the third trimester wasn't all that bad. I still was able to get through my days at school, albeit I spent a lot more time teaching from my desk chair than on my feet walking around, and bathroom breaks during class time became inevitable. My kids were good and considerate though and never gave me a moment's trouble. I was amazed that every time I left the class I would come back to find them all sitting in their seats quietly working on whatever assignment I had left them with, knowing full well that if it were any other teacher, they would come back to chaos.

One other negative of the big belly was that it made guitar lessons with Jasper more difficult, but it really didn't matter since anytime I was around the family now Jasper and Edward pretty much monopolized my time interacting with the baby. Jasper said that he was really contented and seemed to really adore me while Edward said he loved the sound of everyone's voices, but mine was his favorite, and he didn't like it when I ate spicy foods or drank orange soda. I couldn't help but laugh at them. They were even more animated about interacting with him than they had been with Sarina, but I guess it was easier with us because we didn't have to worry about the whole vampire/human/wolf thing with us. In typical Lina fashion, we were average, normal, run of the mill, and still somehow managed to be fascinating for some reason.

It was the first week of May, three weeks left of the school year and then I would have the rest of the summer free to make all of the last minute preparations for the baby's arrival. I walked into the nursery and sat in the recliner in the corner by the window. I opened the window and stared around the nursery in reverence as I relaxed and let the cool spring breeze blow in past my chair and take in the view imagining what it will be like when we bring our baby home to sleep in his crib, and wear his little clothes, and change is diaper on the ready and waiting changing table. I sighed and smiled as I relaxed back in the chair cuddling the little stuffed wolf that adorned the chair to my chest.

My mother and Alice had done a fantastic job of the nursery. I was completely astonished when I walked into the wonderland they had created in my absence over the course of one weekend. I had expected to come in to find basic colored walls, maybe a border of some cute little bears or cartoon characters, but instead I walked in to find that they had managed to create the most amazing murals imaginable! The four different walls all had different themes for the murals and the murals all blurred at the edges fading into a pale blue color that left clean edges into the corners, floor and ceiling of the room, giving each mural the impression of being a portal into another world beyond.

One long wall held a forest scene so vivid it looked more like a picture transposed directly onto the drywall as opposed to a creation made of paints. Rays of sunlight poured through the canopy of green leaves above illuminating the forest floor where a pack of three very large and familiar looking wolves were captured mid stride cutting across the expanse between the trees and stealthily clearing a small stream. I immediately recognized Seth, Jacob, and Leah, and Seth later told me that he recognized the location as being a spot near the family's home at Forks where they lived when Nessie was born.

The wall that the crib inhabited provided much less space to work with thanks to a window and the closet both being along that wall. Instead of making a full wall mural there, instead there was a small mural that began just above the top of the crib and along the expanse between the window and the door. This mural held beautiful fluffy white clouds with little angel babies sitting on top playing harps and dangling toys looking as though they were watching over and playing with the infant that would inhabit the crib soon. The middle of the mural was left blank awaiting a name to be placed there once we finally decided on what to call him. We were still struggling with the issue. We wanted something strong and personal, and while we didn't want to use any family names, we also didn't want to just pull a name out of a book either. We had found a few that we liked, but nothing seemed quite RIGHT.

The middle of the third wall was mainly inhabited by a large bay window with a window seat centered in the middle of the wall, so instead of a standard mural here, my mother opted instead to recreate a meadow with tall grasses stretching up and giving a sense of depth the to the wall with tiny multicolored wildflowers strewn amongst the grass with trees along the upper section of the wall that aligned with the tree line outside of the window seeming to continue beauty of nature outside our little boy's room on the walls where the view ended thanks to the window frames.

The final wall contained a mural strategically painted above the changing table and long low dresser that inhabited the wall. This wall held a host of beautiful shining guardian angels who just so happened to have very familiar looking faces looking down on the blurred outline of a mother who had very similar attributes to myself rocking a tiny bundle of blue blankets with one tiny arm reached out to grasp the mother's finger with a tiny dimpled hand.

I smiled as I looked around at the reminders on every wall that our son had not two people to watch over him and protect him, but a whole family full of guardians who would give pretty much anything to keep him safe. This bedroom wasn't just a nursery; it was a visual testament to the love that my sweet baby boy was going to find himself wrapped in. I sat in the recliner and felt my eye lids flutter closed in peaceful slumber.

As the weeks wore on I felt more and more tired and I was never more grateful for my workdays to be over with. Everything had begun to ache from my toes and legs to my back and neck. The weight of the now extremely large stomach I carried in front of me shifted everything forward making my muscles strain and complain as they struggled to maintain my balance. In addition to that, the baby had become much more active and had begun taking to digging his feet in putting pressure on the bottom of my uterus as he would stretch up to the side causing me to yelp every time in pain as his little head would stretch out in a lump at the edge of my ribcage.

I didn't have to see my 35 week sonogram to know that he was most definitely in the breech position. Every time he would stretch up I was well aware of where his head was positioned. The doctor began discussing options as her concern mounted that he had not yet rotated to the head down position that he needed to be in for delivery. I already had to come in once a week for check ups between now and delivery and each week we would be watching to see if the baby would turn where he needed to be. After that I started noticing that he would try to turn and it would hurt so badly and he would manage to get sideways and then float back up into the position that he started. I tried coaxing, I tried rubbing, and I tried putting pressure on the outside my stomach when he tried to turn in order to help him finish the rotation, but nothing was helping.

We had a quiet night at home to celebrate our anniversary on July fourth. Being 36 weeks pregnant and extremely uncomfortable, I had no desire to dress up and try to go out somewhere swanky. So instead Seth recruited my family to deliver a gourmet meal from Olympia and we stayed in while he rubbed my feet and we indulged in a full night of back to back movies. I felt bad that we didn't do something better, but Seth chuckled and said that we should probably enjoy the peace and quiet while we could. We both knew it would be a long time before we would be able to have another uninterrupted night of movies.

At my 37 week appointment the doctor sat us down to seriously discuss our options. There were two we could choose from. One we could go into the hospital and do what the doctor called an external inversion where they would give me a muscle relaxant to help my muscles relax and then attempt to assist the baby from the outside to turn and then once the baby was head down they would induce labor and deliver. There was a potential for this to cause complications for the baby, and possibly even myself, and after all of that, there was a chance that I may still have to have a cesarean delivery. The other option would be to make the appointment that day to have the baby taken c-section and then we would not have to worry about the other options and just go in and deliver the baby. The doctor left the room and gave Seth and I time to talk.

"Well, what do you think you want to do?" Seth asked with a furrowed brow and obvious concern in his voice.

"I don't know, I know they say natural delivery is better for mother and baby, but I don't know, I just have this feeling that we should just do the c-section because then we don't put him at risk of something going wrong and I'm willing to take the brunt of the recovery if it means not putting him at risk."

"Are you sure? They say that the risk is minimal." Seth replied crossing the room to hold my hands and reaching hand up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

I thought for a moment, but something inside me was screaming that attempting to turn him was too dangerous. I had already learned that I needed to trust my instincts. "Yeah, I'm sure. Let's schedule the C-section. I don't want to risk putting him in any more danger than we have to. It's the best thing to do."

The doctor came back in and nodded approvingly at our decision. She said that with the baby being breach and by the size that he was according to the last sonogram, she didn't want to wait too long and risk me going into labor and forcing the c-section to be an emergency situation, so instead she said she would like to take the baby the following week, at 38 weeks gestation, in July fifteenth.

As we walked out of the doctor's office I felt this strange mixture of fear and disappointment. I had really wanted to go through the natural delivery process and be able to hold my baby after the birth and bond and breastfeed right away like all of the books recommended. I knew now that none of those things would be possible. I was now going to have to go under some form of anesthesia, I would be stuck being sewn back up and then in the recovery room in those precious minutes after the baby was born, and I wouldn't get to even hold him or see him until I was returned to my room. I could feel my involuntary tears begin to fall at all of the experiences I was going to miss out on with him already, and he wasn't even here yet. I felt Seth's arms around me as he led me to the car, stroking my hair and kissing my head after he helped me shimmy into the seat and buckle my seatbelt.

"Don't worry Angel. You are both going to be fine. We're going to get through this just fine."

I nodded and wiped away another stray tear taking a few deep breaths as he closed the car door and walked around to his side of the car. As we drove by I watched the green of the trees and moss blur in my vision and I became lost in my own thoughts. I worried if I had really made the right decision. What if I was wrong? What if it was better for the baby to be turned and born the way God intended? What if I was already making all of the wrong decisions when it came to my little boy? I was questioning everything, but then I felt that nagging in the pit of my stomach, the one that kept saying that turning him was dangerous and the c-section was the best choice and I finally relaxed deciding that I needed to trust the doctor and myself that we made the right choice and now it was time to call our family and let them know when to expect to meet their newest addition. I picked up my cell phone and made the first call to my mother as a happy smile spread across my face. In less than a week I was going to be a mommy!

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Author's Note: So is it considered fiction when you're writing about things that really happened to you? I feel like I'm cheating here...LOL. So all of the breach baby stuff…true story…and since I have a really interesting birth story that one will be real too. Basically the nursery design and the Edward/Jasper/Baby interactions are the only works of fiction in this chapter! LOL! Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it! Next Chapter…the birth!


	33. Welcome to The World

**Disclaimer: I don't own the original Twilight series, but I've greatly enjoyed sculpting its world to fit my OC, Lina.**

_**Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to my little boy Ethan. It will be four years ago on April 29**__**th**__** that I lived through this very same day that Lina is about to experience (minus the vampire family aspects of course) and he was worth every single bit of it and then some. I love you baby! I can't believe how big you've gotten. It's gone way too fast. I had seriously considered naming Lina and Seth's baby Ethan in honor of my son, but the name that came to me while I was writing fit their little one much more. I hope you enjoy.**_

_**By popular demand, I've also written a Seth POV of the pregnancy and birth, suitable for all ages, that is now on my extras posting. Also thanks to my afore mentioned son's birthday, I probably won't be getting much time to write, so I wanted to warn you that your next update will probably take at least two weeks or so. Sorry about that, but real life calls. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.**_

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33. Welcome To The World

For the first time in weeks I managed to sleep through most of the night, not having to wake up to pee after my midnight pit stop. So when my eyes fluttered open at five to find Seth propped up behind me on his elbow smiling at me as though he had just won the lottery I was more than a little surprised and confused to find him awake without my frequent potty trips being the cause for his disruption of sleep.

My confusion grew when I returned to our bedroom to find the lights on with Seth sitting on the edge of the bed with a devious smile on his face as he bounced a little reminding me of a much larger and more masculine Alice. I couldn't resist the sarcastic remark brewing in my hazy brain.

"What on earth has got you so excited at this time of the morning? Did you snort coffee while I was sleeping or something?"

He got up and crossed the room meeting me halfway and leading me to the bed where he had taken my pillows and set them up against the headboard for me to sit against while we talked.

He helped me clamor onto the bed awkwardly, finally settling into a comfortable position as I wrapped my hands together on the top of my distended tummy and raised my eyebrows waiting for him to finally tell me whatever it was that had him so excited.

"I had an epiphany last night Angel. I was watching you sleep and feeling the little guy moving around and I realized that he was a part of both of us and that I wanted his name to represent you as much as me. He's already got my last name, and then it hit me. You are my Angel and he will be too, and then the name came to me. Gabriel, like the angel in the bible who always brought all the good news…Gabriel Cullen Clearwater…and we could call him Gabe. What do you think?"

I was tired and it took me a moment to absorb the name as I repeated it over and over in my brain. Gabriel Cullen Clearwater…I felt warmth grow in my chest as I thought of staring down into the eyes of my baby boy…Gabriel, Gabe…It fit. Then I said it again and my heart began to grow and pulse at the sweetness of the first name being after me and then including my family, all of my family in one foul swoop by using their last name, my last name for so many years…Cullen. Gabriel Cullen Clearwater. I felt the smile stretching across my cheeks as the glow of it's perfection filled my chest, but then I thought of his comments over some of the other names I had suggested and I felt my excitement falter. "I love it, but you don't think it's a bit too Harlequin for the res? You were concerned about that with some of the other names."

He chuckled, "Maybe a little, but the nickname isn't bad and I think the sentiment behind it definitely overrides the Harlequin aspect of the name."

I smiled and then looked down to run my hand gently across the tightened skin of my extremely distended stomach. "So little one, what do you think? Is that your name? Are you Gabriel Cullen Clearwater?"

As if answering to his name, little Gabe stretched up into my rib cage causing me to gasp as always at the pain of my muscles stretching and tensing at the intrusion. He stayed there a bit longer than usual before finally relaxing back down and relieving the pain.

"Well, I think that's a yes Mommy," Seth said as he leaned forward and kissed my forehead lovingly with the brightest smile I think I had ever seen grace his beautiful face.

An instant later my cell phone began to ring Alice's ring tone and we both laughed as Seth reached over and grabbed it from the bedside table handing it over to me to keep me from having to reposition myself in order to stretch and reach the device. I answered it and put it on speakerphone as chaos met our ears. "We love it! It's a perfect name Seth! Esme and I will be over tomorrow to paint his name on the nursery wall and the nursery will finally be totally complete! See you tomorrow!"

We both laughed and sent them our love before lying down. Seth patiently helped me set up my cocoon of pillows and as he picked up the last one to place behind my back I stopped him.

"Would you mind holding me? The night is nearly over and I really, really miss sleeping in your arms."

"It would be an honor my Angel. I miss feeling you in my arms as I sleep too," he answered with a loving smile and a wink before climbing in behind me and wrapping me in his embrace, stretching his hand across my waist and rubbing it tenderly over my stomach. I could feel Gabe move a little and then he stopped as the three of us all fell into a comfortable sleep together.

The entire week leading up to Gabe's birth was filled with chaos as we prepared for his arrival. In addition to the general discomfort of late pregnancy I also got blessed with a revival of my morning sickness…well sort of. I didn't feel sick all of the time, but I also wasn't able to hold down a single meal all week, which worried me a bit. I was afraid that they would cancel the c-section of I was ill, but when I called the doctor's office they didn't seem concerned, so I decided not to stress over it.

As the big day drew closer I noticed my family hovering even more than usual. Edward and Jasper were particularly attentive picking up on my worries and occasional bouts of disappointment that I wasn't going to get to share those precious first moments with my son that I had watched Nessie share with Sarina. I felt so robbed at times, but reminded myself that the most important part was a strong healthy baby. We would make up for lost bonding time later.

The day before delivery I was focused. I had a game plan and I had it broken down practically to the minute. I was fully prepared to stop eating or drinking at midnight in preparation for the surgery and get up at five am the next morning in order to arrive at the hospital for preoperative preparations. I clung to that game plan like a drowning man to an emergency floatation device…so when I got a phone call that afternoon informing me that the operating room had been double booked and my delivery was being moved to the afternoon I began to immediately panic. All of my carefully constructed plans that comforted and calmed me were ripped to shreds in an instant.

Jasper, Edward, and Seth all stepped in right away trying to assuage my panic as I realized that I was now going to have seven whole waking hours before the surgery to fret and worry now. Not only that, but I knew that even though I was having issues holding down food, that going without food and drink, including water, for that entire time was going to be extremely difficult.

A few hours later my nerves were somewhat more settled, but I was still quite frustrated with the turn of events. I fell asleep that night resting against Edward as we lounged against the headboard in the bedroom I shared with Seth while he stroked my hair and hummed to me like he did when I was young. The sound of the voice and cooling relief of his skin was a nice reprieve from the sweltering summer night.

I awoke the next morning having slept through the night to find myself still resting against Edward with Seth lying on the other side of me with his face nestled near my stomach with his hand balanced lightly on top. I smiled at his sweet face looking happy as he cuddled as close as he could to our son and ran my fingers through his short black hair. I felt Gabe move under Seth's hand and I watched as Seth's smile widened in his contented sleep.

We stayed like that a few minutes as I watched my husband and son interact before Gabe bounced on my bladder making my need to use the facilities urgent. Edward laughed as he helped me up to my feet and to the bathroom, reaching over to wake Seth in the process. Edward left and Seth helped me get dressed before we made our way downstairs to find a house full of excited family members from both sides of the family hovering around. I've never seen a group of vampires appear so fidgety. I laughed and Edward laughed with me having sensed my thoughts.

We spent the morning visiting as I tried not to let my nerves get the better of me. I tried instead of focus on the twinkle in everyone's eyes, when a thought crossed my mind at the same moment that I heard Edward voice same thought behind me.

"I hope none of the family has any issues with Lina having an open incision and lochia discharge. Her blood holds no draw for any of us and doesn't seem to cause us pain anymore when she's not openly bleeding, but it may be a whole different story after delivery."

I looked up at Edward behind me and frowned. "Yeah, Edward, I was just wondering the same thing. Everyone's so excited; it would be a shame if it was too difficult."

Edward frowned at me, "Lina, I didn't say anything."

Then my frown deepened. "Yes you did, you said that you hoped that the family wouldn't have issues with me having an incision and the afterbirth flow when they visit me."

The whole room grew completely silent and I heard Edward's voice even though his lips did not move, "_I didn't say that out loud did I?"_

My eyes grew wide and we blinked at each other a few times. _Edward, you didn't say that last question out loud…did you?_

_No, I didn't._

I shifted my eyes around the room to look at all of the confused faces surrounding me and I heard nothing from anybody despite the fact that every single mind must have been reeling with questions about our exchange.

I looked back at Edward. _You can't hear anybody but me? _He asked. I couldn't even respond in my mind I just shook my head at him blankly.

"Well that's interesting_." _He finally said out loud with a smile and I smiled back.

"Would somebody please share with the rest of the class what the heck is going on?" Emmett growled above the murmured voices in the room. "You know I hate when Edward carries on silent conversations, but this one is even more confusing that most!"

Edward laughed, _I'll take care of this you just relax. We'll look into this a little more later on, after Gabe is here and you are finally feeling better. _I nodded and he turned to face the room.

"Well, it seems that Lina's developed another new skill. She can hear my thoughts…but for some reason only my thoughts. She tried to see if she could hear the rest of you, but she couldn't."

The room suddenly exploded into loud excited chatter as everyone discussed the situation and hypothesized why I could only hear Edward. I laughed when it seemed as though I was suddenly all but forgotten with the exception of Seth who smiled and reached over to hold my hand while he caressed my hair and whispered in my ear. "Every day you just get more and more amazing. Don't worry my Angel. Everything will be fine. We're going to meet our son in four hours."

I felt my breath catch as my heartbeat sped at the thought of my son being born in four short hours. As soon as I felt my tension rise I felt a sense of calm and warmth and love. I looked up expecting to see Jasper, but he wasn't there, then I looked over at the serene face of my husband as he looked down at me with loving eyes and I realized that the sensations were traveling from my hand into my heart. This wasn't Jasper helping me, but was simply my husband sharing his love for me and his faith that we were going to be fine. I smiled appreciatively and tipped my head up for him to meet my lips with a kiss before leaning into his embrace and closing my eyes relishing the sensations coming from my husband. We would be okay…Gabe and I would be fine and I would finally get to hold my son.

Soon it was time to leave for the hospital. I had to be there three hours early for all of the pre operative blood work and paper work. I was quickly led away from my family who dominated the large waiting room with even more of my pack kids showing up shortly afterward to show support. I was shaking as I held Seth's hand following the nurse through the large double doors to a small pink room with a gurney type bed, a counter with a sink and cabinets, and a plastic chair. I was directed to strip down completely and put on a hospital gown before the nurse left the room closing the door behind her.

With shaky hands I began to undo the knot in the string on my pants as Seth crossed the room to lend me a hand, helping me to slide out of my large maternity wear and into the large open backed hospital gown and climb onto the bed. I sat twitching nervously as the nurses flitted in and out with paperwork to fill out and asking questions. After a while they began to let my visitors filter back a few at a time while I waited for the phlebotomists to come by and draw my blood and the anesthesiologist to come and talk to me about what would happen during the procedure. Everyone tried so hard to joke with me and distract me, but I could feel my nerves vibrating all the way down to my bones.

Finally the phlebotomist came and asked me about which arm was better to draw blood from. I warned her immediately that I was notoriously difficult to stick on a regular day and hadn't been allowed any water since midnight the night before which meant that I would be even worse. She laughed and chose to begin with my right arm. After three sticks in the bend of my arm with no success she switched to my other arm, three more sticks and she had not managed to tap a vein long enough to get more than a partial vial of blood. Next she went back to the first arm and pulled a butterfly needle from her supplies attempting to gain the blood by sticking the back of my hand. Five sticks later she finally managed to get enough blood to fill the five vials to run my blood work. I was sore and annoyed and hoped that that it meant that the worst was behind me.

Soon the nurse came in and to my great relief, she managed to insert my IV on the second try and they began to administer the saline. By this point my mouth felt like someone had forced me to eat a package of saltines in the middle of the desert after having gone without water for a few days prior. My tongue felt like sandpaper and I would have given my right arm for even a wet washcloth to wet my mouth. My visitors once again began to make the rounds for visits, but my mouth was so dry that I couldn't seem to encourage myself to talk much. I just sat and smiled as I fidgeted nervously with the corner of the sheet that was draped over my legs and watched the second hand slowly creep around the face of the large white clock hanging on the wall.

Thirty minutes till show time, the nurse came in with a pile of scrubs for Seth to change into so he could be in the operating room with me. He stepped into the bathroom to change just as the nurse anesthetist who would be administering the anesthesia entered the room to talk to me, explaining we were going to do a spinal block at which point I became confused explaining that I thought I was having an epidural. After some discussion with my doctor they decided to do the epidural and she returned with the supplies just before Seth emerged from the bathroom. The nurse and the anesthetist talked me through the procedure as they had me lean forward and bow my back so that the anesthetist could numb the area before inserting the tiny plastic tube that would supply local anesthetic into the dural space of my spine blocking off all sensation below a certain area. The sharp sting of the numbing medication made me wince, but the feeling of the needle piercing my muscle and skin hurt badly and I fought my instinct to pull away knowing that it could having damaging ramifications. I cried and screamed a bit as I felt the pain of the tube entering my back and then to my relief the anesthetist said I was done and allowed me to lean back and once again I was relieved thinking that the worst was over…now I wouldn't feel any more discomfort thanks to the numbing medication…boy was I wrong.

The nurse and anesthetist helped me to lay back onto the bed and the anesthetist informed me that she was going to be giving me a tiny test dose to ensure that the epidural had been placed properly and blocked the sensation in the necessary areas. Within seconds of her administering the test dose I began to feel my cheeks heat and dizziness flooded my head and I told her just before horrible nausea hit and I began to shake and cry. I had never been so scared before in my life. I had felt pain, I had felt nausea, I had felt dizziness, but in that moment, I seriously felt like my entire body was out of control and that I was afraid it would never stop. The nurse and anesthetist jumped into action lowering my head and informing me that I had a serious drop in blood pressure caused by the medication because I was dehydrated as the pushed bags of fluid into me as rapidly as they could as Seth sat by my side stroking my hair and holding my hand telling me I was going to be okay and whispering soothing words into my ear. Two and half bags of fluid later my blood pressure stabilized and the dizziness faded and I felt better again, but to say that I was scared after that experience was an understatement.

After a few minutes to make sure I was nice and stable the doctor came in to check on me looking at me with concerned eyes. I could tell she felt bad for all that I had already endured and my already frayed nerves were now ragged and stringy at best. Ten minutes after two I was finally wheeled into the OR where the team of nurses and aids moved me from the gurney to the operating table and a sheet was raised to block my head and shoulders away from the rest of my body where the surgery was taking place. Seth sat at my side and talked to me as they prepared to begin. The doctors told me I would feel lots of pressure, but that would be pretty much it. I was relieved when they informed me that they had already made the bikini cut incision and I hadn't felt a thing, but they continued to be quiet as they worked at the far end of the table taking much longer than expected to extract little Gabe.

I heard excited discussion and then they said that they needed to do a vertical incision because they couldn't get him out with the current incision, but a few seconds later the baby still wasn't out and I could feel the panic rising in my chest as my eyes began to water. Seth watched anxiously over the edge of the sheet as I asked him what was going on just as I heard the doctor say that they needed to extend the vertical incision some more. I suddenly felt hard pressure at the top of my abdomen as Seth explained that one doctor was pushing from above while the other was pulling from below and a few seconds later Gabe was out. The entire process only lasted five minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.

They rushed him to the incubator on the far side of the room and I began to panic when I realized that I couldn't hear him crying. I couldn't see anything in the room except for the blurring tears that filled my eyes as Seth tried to comfort me and told me he was making noises and asked if I could hear them, which I cried harder saying I couldn't and then I heard a loud halty cry and I sobbed in relief.

Seth left my side to go take pictures as the doctors began the process of sewing me up, but suddenly I could feel everything they were doing. Every touch hurt and I began to cry and scream and writhe on the table, completely overwhelmed by the whole ordeal I had endured so far that day. The doctor spoke with the anesthetist and she leaned down next to me speaking quickly and panicky saying she could help me if I wanted, I could be put under general. I wailed and begged her to stop the pain just as Seth rushed back to my side in a panic telling me it would be okay just as they dragged him away telling him that he couldn't be in the room while I was under general. I cried as his hand left mine and then everything went dark.

I opened my eyes to hear the sound of the heart monitor beeping next to me in the recovery room. I looked but I couldn't see anybody around and moaned as the ache in my stomach overtook my senses. I had never in my entire life felt such pain. I lifted my hand trying to reach up to brush the hair out of my eyes and even that tiny movement hurt throughout my entire body. The events of the day left me weak and in a great deal of pain, and all I really wanted more than anything was to see my husband and my son.

Time ticked by in dauntingly slow measure as I waited for someone to come back into the room. I'm sure it wasn't more than a minute or two, but it seemed like an eternity before the nurse came to my bedside to check on me and pressed on my stomach making me scream and arch off the bed in pain. She apologized profusely but said it had to be done to make sure that my body was fully purged of the blood. To my relief she came back immediately with a dose of pain medication that took the edge off of the pain, leaving it as a nagging ache instead of a sharp tear inducing pain.

A few minutes later Seth returned with our camera in hand and showed me pictures of Gabe, our beautiful perfect Gabe, as they cleaned him up after delivery. I laughed at the pictures of our family looking in through the nursery glass as the nurse cleaned and treated him. They really did look almost exactly like the mural on the wall of his nursery…a host of angels looking over him. I smiled in spite of the pain at the love I saw in the eyes of every single face looking down on my beautiful baby boy.

It seemed like forever later that they decided I could be taken to my room. My family along with Sue, Charlie, Leah, Danny, and some of the pack kids were all in the waiting room and came out to talk to me as I was being wheeled by. Right across the hall was the nursery and I caught sight of him for the first time through that dang blasted window. He was beautiful all wrapped up in a fuzzy blue blanket with a little blue beanie cap on his head. The nurse smiled and picked up to the window for me to see, pulling the cap off his head so I could see the black hair that covered the top of his little head. I felt the tears pool in my eyes again as I reflexively reached up and laid my hand against the glass wanting to touch him so badly.

We sat for a few minutes as I took in my beautiful baby before they said that the sooner they got me settled the sooner he could come and see me. They wheeled me into the room and after an extremely painful transfer from the gurney to my bed I was left alone with Seth to attempt to recover before a few of my family came in along with a nurse rolling a little clear bassinet into the room.

The nurse picked my tiny wiggling son up gingerly and brought him over to lay him on my chest and I gasped as I felt his tiny warm body settle into onto my shoulder where he instantly relaxed. He knew me; he recognized me, and it made my heart soar. She stuffed pillows under my arms to help me balance his weight and smiled as I reached my left hand up and brushed his little tan cheek with my finger, amazed at the perfection of his features.

"Hi Gabriel Cullen Clearwater, I'm your Mommy." I pulled off his hat and tried to bend down to kiss the top of his head. My stomach muscles protested at the effort, but I pushed through it determined to kiss my child before taking a deep breath of his sweet baby hair. He was here and he was perfect.

We passed him around for a while before the lactation consultant came in to assist me in attempting to breastfeed as she kicked out everyone except Seth. To say breastfeeding was difficult for us would be an understatement. Between my painful incisions keeping me from being able to sit up, Gabe being completely passed out, and my own haze between the exhaustion of the day and my medication, my first time trying to nurse Gabe was very awkward and less than productive, but I was determined to do this for him, so I wasn't going to give up.

After our first attempt to nurse him was over, my family returned to the room and Seth took Gabe over to change him. I watched every movement as he carefully and expertly undressed my precious baby boy and changed his diaper and it was then that I noticed the purple rings wrapping around his little chest and I asked what they were from and that was when I learned what all had happened during our delivery.

There were several very good reasons why Gabe hadn't turned to the head down position in his womb; it seems that my anatomy was a bit abnormal. Once the doctors finally got inside and retrieved him, they discovered that I had a bicornuate, or heart shaped, uterus and that I had a band of tissue that surrounded the uterus that would not allow him to turn and was actually tightening down on him during delivery. It wasn't until they cut the band during their second vertical incision that they were able to free him. The band was what had left the rings around his tiny chest. He was also soon taken back to the nursery because his doctor had ordered him to be put on monitors for the first twenty four hours to make sure all was well with him since it did take them so long to deliver him and get him to breathe, leaving him a terrifying purplish blue color when he was born.

My family stayed a while longer before they left to allow me to rest since the medication and my exhaustion kept making me fall asleep mid sentence during our conversations as it was. They all kissed me and promised to visit again tomorrow.

Gabe and I were kept in the hospital for three days as I healed. The time was a hazy blur for me between the medication, the pain, and the nurse bringing Gabe in to try to nurse every three hours like clockwork. Thankfully nursing was much easier once I was able to sit up, but we still struggled. My family, friends, and the pack kids came in and out our entire stay to visit. I enjoyed seeing them, but it was all very exhausting and I was more than ready to go home by the time the third day came.

I was relieved to find that Gabe was removed from observation the next morning after his birth. The pediatrician said that he was doing so great that if he hadn't read his chart he would never have known he had endured such a traumatic birth. Baby's eyes are almost always blue or gray at birth, and the same was true with Gabe. It would be a while before we would know what his true eye color would be, but it didn't matter because they were beautiful. He was such a calm and sweet baby who loved to lie in my arms and look around during his rare waking moments. He was amazingly strong too from his many months standing up in my uterus. He surprised us all when Seth had him lying in his lap with his head on his knees and his feet up by his stomach. All of a sudden Gabe pushed off of Seth's stomach with his feet and shoved himself halfway off Seth's lap, scaring us both to death! My Gabe was most definitely a fighter, and now that he was here and safe, I felt much better about the days and weeks to come.

The day we were released from the hospital I noticed that Gabe wasn't eating as well as he had been and he was still having the sticky meconium in his diaper. When I would try to nurse him he kept popping off and screaming like he was hurting and I was really worried. My instincts were screaming something was wrong, but I couldn't get the nurses to take me seriously. I had a couple of possibilities in my mind as to what was causing the problem, either nipple confusion because someone in the nursery had been going against my wishes and giving him a bottle or we were developing thrush from the massive amounts of antibiotics I had been given to keep my massive ugly T shaped incision from getting infected.

I tried calling Alice to see if she had any visions to help us, but unfortunately Gabe had been making her visions regarding us pretty fuzzy again and she wasn't much help. Edward was out hunting and was beyond cell phone range. I had discovered on the second day that my family had taken to hunting every day in order to help offset the problems they were having being around me. It seems that while I wasn't hard to be around while my blood was safely confined within the protective barrier of my skin, my free flowing blood was not quite as easily dismissed.

In addition to his problems nursing, it was blatantly obvious that his skin tone was darkening and becoming more and more yellowed. We were released with a notation that his bilirubin levels were elevated and we needed to go in for blood tests the next morning to see if his levels were still rising or dropping.

The first hour we were home things were great. It was so much fun introducing Gabe to our home and his room. It was so incredible to see him lying in his crib and changing him on his changing table. In the course of a few days our entire world shifted focus and now this tiny little being was the center of our world. Gabe napped in his crib as I eased into the recliner in the corner and Seth sat on the floor at my feet with his head resting on my legs.

"Well, one thing about it, we'll know going in what to expect next time. The doctors will be prepared and so will I." I whispered as I gazed over at my pride and joy sleeping peacefully.

"Next time? After what you just went through I wasn't entirely sure you would want to do it all again. I would understand if you didn't." Seth said looking up at me in amazement.

I smiled and shrugged. "Of course we will do it all again, that little boy is not our only baby. There will be a next time."

He reached forward and grabbed my hand kissing my knuckles lovingly and holding my hand against his cheek and looked up at me with tears of love in his eyes. "Angelina Cecelia Cullen Clearwater, You are the bravest person I have ever met and I love you so much. You never cease to amaze me."

I laughed and tightened my grip on his hand. We sat a bit longer before I realized my pain medicine was wearing off and Seth helped me to stand and make my way back downstairs to the main floor to settle on the couch while he brought me a snack, some water, and one of my Vicoden pills.

The medication was just starting to put me under when I heard Gabe's cries over the monitor. Seth ran up to get him and came back carrying my Boppy pillow, the greatest invention ever for nursing moms and set me up to nurse Gabe. My poor baby boy was starving; he would latch on and suck for dear life for a few seconds before popping off screaming bloody murder. I felt so frustrated and didn't know what to do. I cried and cried as my baby was screaming for food, but unable to get what he needed for whatever reason. Finally I decided to go with an alternative solution.

I pulled out the electric Pump N Style breast pump and connected the hoses and pumped all that I could before putting it in a bottle and handing it to Seth. Gabe latched on to the nipple of the bottle and sucked for all he was worth, finally ending his tears and starting a torrent of my own. I felt so defeated and so sad convinced that my inability to nurse him right away after he was born combined with someone in the nursery giving him bottles that first night he was away from me had to be the reason for our difficulties.

I continued to pump and give Gabe bottles through the night and then got up the next morning to see the doctor. To our horror his billirubin levels had risen instead of dropping and the doctor diagnosed us with a case of thrush as well prescribing a liquid to use for both Gabe and I to fight the infection and a phototherapy bed for Gabe to stay on to break down the billirubin in his system.

I felt like such a failure as a mother already. Even though the doctor swore up and down that all babies face these types of difficulties at birth and while some are able to conquer the problems on their own, others need assistance, I still felt like I had fallen down on the job and my baby boy wasn't even a week old yet.

It was torture not being able to hold our son except to feed and change him. He hated being stuck in the bed when he wasn't sleeping, but we had to keep him there or he would never get better. The one positive of the whole situation was that the medication began to help and I was once again able to nurse Gabe which made me feel a bit better about my mothering skills.

We went on like this for two more days as we got up every morning to take Gabe in for blood work and then brought him back home again to return him to the phototherapy bed. The day we got the call from the doctor saying that the therapy was no longer necessary felt like a major victory. That baby didn't get put down again for forty-eight hours between Seth and I and the rest of the family.

Once we got past the first week it was smooth sailing from then on out. Gabe was a wonderful baby who put himself on a three hour nursing and sleeping schedule. He was calm and only cried when hungry or dirty and slowly I began to gain more and more confidence in my motherly skills. I only had one frustration, I didn't have the same connection with Gabe as I did with Sarina and that saddened me. I had so hoped that I would be able to sense his emotions as I had hers right after she was born, but even though I didn't feel his emotions in that same tangible way, I still seemed to have a motherly intuition when it came to him that I was very grateful for.

It was also amazing to watch his response to my family. He took to them all right away and they seemed to be totally enamored with him. I was so happy with the course my life had taken. Once again my family was all together in one place. I had my parents back, my siblings back, my niece was a regular part of my life, I had a strong connection to the pack and their families, I had a wonderful mother in law and father in law who adored my son, and most importantly of all I had an amazing son and husband to share my life with. In that moment, I honestly felt that life could not be any better.

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Author's Note: Now all of you young impressionable ladies out there, please don't take my highly irregular first birthing experience and make it cause you to swear off having kids for life, as my beta said she was doing after reading this. Most deliveries aren't anywhere near this insane, and while I had my issues with my second baby, it was nowhere near as traumatic as my first delivery. Now after reading this you know why I used my own story, I swear I probably never would have come up with anything nearly as insane as that day on my own if I tried. Sometimes life really is stranger and more insane than fiction! LOL! Anyway, thanks so much for reading. Hope you guys have a good couple of weeks, and I will get back on track with the Seth, Lina, and baby Gabe updates as soon as I can!


	34. Returning Nightmares and Savoring Time

_**Author's Note: Sorry guys, I know this is a very short one, but I wanted to do a quick update while I had some downtime. It's been a busy week, and I've had some time to write here and there, but unfortunately I got sucked into my other story and didn't get much done for this one…so today my son is off visiting his grandma and my daughter is taking a nice long nap…so I decided this was a good time to shoot off a bit more Gabe and Lina with a touch of Seth and Edward thrown in the mix. It's a small fix…but better than nothing, and while it's a small chapter, it hints toward some big future happenings. Thanks for reading and please take some time to review!**_

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34. Returning Nightmares and Savoring Time

The first two months of Gabe's life flew by in a blur of late night feedings, and being a breastfed baby, that meant that I did the majority of the late night shifts unless I had managed to pump a bottle beforehand for someone else to give him. Thankfully he began sleeping through the night, if you can call midnight to five am sleeping through the night, but it was still nice to have more than a two and a half to three hour chunk at a time.

Unfortunately, the sleep time wasn't leaving me rested, not with the nightmares. I had actually grown a bit more used to the nightmares over time. I had quickly learned that my suspicions on the weekend of my wedding were correct. My dreams were linked to being near the pack. The more pack members were around, the more often the dreams would haunt me. The first month after we moved to the LaPush area, Seth threatened to sell our house and move us away when night after night I would wake up screaming and sweating.

Thankfully after that first month, the dreams dropped off in frequency, only coming about once every week or two, and the more I had, the less they terrified me and instead steeled me and made me begin to plan for the future. I began to do research and kept dream journals looking for new details to help me be prepared for the future that threatened everyone I loved. Through my observations I realized that there were basically four different dreams that I tended to have and when you pieced them together they outlined the course of three days. Three sunny days in the springtime and it always included the pack kids, the Volturi, and my family.

Working at the high school had also inspired other ideas, other things that could help me as a weak human be something more than just a pawn in the Volturi's ultimate plan. I began to research chemistry and asked my father if any experiments had ever been done manipulating venom, asking if it could change phases like human blood, if it could be dried or crystallized, and if it were what would happen to its properties. My ideas had intrigued my father, leading him, along with Edward, to begin experimenting with the greater properties of their venom and giving me regular updates on their progress. Needless to say, their findings had been fascinating, and I was hoping that someday it would end up being quite useful.

I had grown accustomed to the nightmares, beginning to look upon them as simple instructional videos within my mind, abstracts for research, detached films on the screen of my mind, but soon after Gabe's birth, I was no longer able to look at them so objectively. Suddenly having a face, a warm body, and an unbreakable bond and unconditional need to protect my infant son had suddenly made the nightmares once again more harrowing and terrifying. Something I once had learned to look at analytically and objectively was once again extremely personal, which resulted in me waking once more in pools of sweat fighting for breath.

The dreams encouraged me to resume my research with fervor as well as to resume my martial arts training as soon as I was capable. It was slow going with all of the healing from my surgery. I wasn't even released to drive or lift any more weight than Gabe himself for the first six weeks. After that I was still a little sore and my muscles between the many months of disuse and being stretched by growing my son inside of me were in great need of training and restrengthening.

Between my desire to be home with Gabe and Seth and my perpetually exhausted state of mind, I chose to only return to work part time when school resumed. I knew I couldn't abandon my work or my pack kids completely. My time with them was very important to me, but so were my son and husband. The school was very gracious giving me two afternoon high school classes and one afternoon Jr. High class giving me the morning to be with my boys and giving Seth time to work, and then I would leave Gabe in Seth's capable hands for the afternoon while I went and taught my pack kids before coming back home again to my boys.

My evenings then rotated between martial arts classes three nights a week and simply staying home with Seth and Gabe enjoying our time together and occasionally spending time with our families. Edward and I were improving our new mental link, learning to not respond to one another outside of our minds and using this ability to play pranks on Emmett and some on the others just to practice utilizing it in strategic ways…well that and paying Emmett back for years of torment.

And speaking of torment, there was definitely a downside to being in Edward's head. I now felt a very strong sense of sympathy for Edward hearing our thoughts when they drifted toward being intimate with our spouses. I only had to hear one, and it was extremely embarrassing to get flashes of Edward and Bella…especially when Edward was kind of a father figure to me. UGH! I did have to say one thing…Vampires definitely had the corner market on imaginative bedroom practices thanks to their speed, strength, and indestructibility, and I'll leave it at that!

My Gabe was a beautiful happy baby and once he started smiling, it was almost like he couldn't stop…especially when I was in the room. It's an amazing feeling to know you are the center of another human's world. When I'm in the room, Gabe's eyes are always on me, watching every move I make, and every time I look at him my gaze is met by the most beautiful smile. It's so amazing and magical.

Gabe was getting stronger and stronger every day. He was born strong, he rolled over for the first time at 16 days old. I had him lying on the floor for 'tummy time' and he didn't like it one little bit. He cried and streamed and pushed off with his little arms pushing his right shoulder and head up off the floor and suddenly he pushed himself right over is left side to his back. To say I was shocked was an understatement, and I assumed it was just a fluke, so I put him on his tummy again and he did it again…and again…and again. He rolled over six times in a row before I finally felt so guilty for letting him cry so long and picked him back up to cuddle him, still completely amazed.

By six weeks old he was holding his head up without any assistance at all and was constantly pushing to stand while you were holding him in your lap. By two months old he was rolling over consistently from his belly to his back. After that first day he had only done it a handful of more times before he gained a little weight and couldn't quite do it anymore, but by two months he had it down to a science and also began to roll from his back to his belly, making him more mobile a bit before I was really ready.

Everyone was amazed at how quickly he was growing and advancing, particularly his pediatrician who was completely shocked by his advances. I wondered how much of it had to do with his Quileute blood. Was it possible that being in such close proximity to so many vamps even in utero had somehow made him stronger earlier? Or would he have been that strong anyway due to what he went through while inside me and during delivery? If there were no such thing as vampires and shape shifting genes, would my son be so advanced? I guess I would never really know, but I couldn't help but wonder. Even Sarina, one quarter vampire, one quarter human, and half Quileute didn't show these types of advances this early…so why Gabe? I had so many questions and no real answers…only speculation.

Life continued on, and while I would often find myself dwelling on our uncertain future and the countless questions to which I would never have any absolute answers, I did my best to focus on the joys of motherhood and savor the time that I had with my boys. There was one thing I had learned throughout my life, it was that the human lifetime is fleeting, and passes so quickly that we really needed to struggle to savor each day as it comes before life blurs past us, babies grow into toddlers and then preschoolers and beyond, the strains of daily life attempt to pull our focus toward the trivial versus the important, and your whole life can pass away before you even take the opportunity to really enjoy it. I had the added foresight of knowing that danger was on the horizon and my time was even shorter than most, thus I struggled even harder to enjoy the time I had, to hold my husband, son, and family close, and to appreciate whatever time I had left.

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Author's Note: So maybe not my best chapter ever. I have to admit I've been feeling pretty drained, but I wanted to get a little update out, and like I said some of the things here are going to be important later. Thanks for reading and hopefully next time I can have a longer update for you guys!!


	35. First Birthdays and Repeating History

**Disclaimer: You all know by now I'm not Stephenie, so I don't own Twilight or the basic background of this story. I have had a lot of fun creating my own little world inside of hers though.**

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35. First Birthdays and Repeating History

The first year of Gabe's life flashed by in the blink of an eye and now I was rushing around trying to get ready for his first birthday party. Alice wanted to commandeer the event, but I insisted that it was important to me that I do it myself for him. She reluctantly gave in, but now that I was in the midst of the chaos, a part of me was wishing I'd just let the pixie do what she does best while I sat back and just enjoyed the day.

As I struggled to put tablecloths on the long picnic tables that adorned our back pasture and tying balloons to the ends of weights to use as centerpieces I thought back over my amazing first year as a mother. Gabe really was so amazing. He was a sweet, loving, caring, and yet a fiercely independent baby. From early on he would frequently get fussy and would simply want to be put down and left to play alone. I used to jokingly call it his autonomy time. I seriously believe his strong sense of independence is part of the reason why he excelled so quickly through his milestones.

In addition to his early advances with rolling over and holding up his head, he continued to excel quickly during the early months of his infancy. We were lucky enough to have already had the video camera out filming him when he managed to sit up on his own for the first time at three and a half months old. Granted, he wasn't the sturdiest sitter at the time, but by four months we managed to capture dozens of pictures of him sitting in the middle of the living room floor with his backbone ramrod straight.

At four months old he began to army crawl across the floors of our home and two weeks later he progressed to full on crawling and suddenly he was everywhere at once. I had never anticipated how absolutely attuned I would need to be our child until the first day he managed to cross the room and begin trying to pull himself up on one of the book shelves in the time it took me to turn around.

By six months old he was pulling himself up on any furniture he was tall enough to reach and cruising around the room, managing to actually take his very first unassisted steps at seven and a half months old.

In addition to his physical advances, he was also a very intelligent baby, constantly plotting his way around obstacles in his way and figuring out how to work toys beyond his age level. The only thing he wasn't doing was talking much. His vocabulary basically consisted of 'Da-da, Boo, and Pee'. The last two were mostly thanks to Uncle Emmett. While I was disappointed that he absolutely refused to say Mama, I wasn't too worried about his overall vocabulary. According to Edward, while he wasn't using his language skills effectively, he seemed to have a thorough grasp of the meanings of words and make the appropriate connections between words and objects in his mind; he just didn't feel the need to verbalize them himself.

So today, one of the few dry and yet overcast days in our part of the world, I was working tirelessly in order to prepare for a huge birthday barbecue to celebrate Gabe's first year with us. It was going to be a huge event with Leah and Danny bringing the kids up from Portland, the pack and their kids, my family, and my coworkers all planning to attend.

I was tying yet another bunch of helium balloons onto a weight in the center of picnic table when I lost my grip and the bundle drifted away into the sky leading me to curse and throw the weight before scream "AGH! Why the heck did I tell Alice I wanted to do this on my own? Alice, if you're watching this, I'm sorry…come help! PLEASE!" I shouted at the sky seconds before I heard the most appreciated pixie in the world giggle from behind me holding a replacement bundle of balloons in her hand while smiling ear to ear.

I laughed and ran over to wrap my arms around her neck, "I love you Ali! Thank you…I'm so sorry. Thank you!"

She laughed again as she gently patted me on the back. "Of course sweetie. Esme will be watching Gabe for us while the rest of us come out here and help you finish getting all of this ready. You've done a great job with the planning it seems," She said looking around appraisingly, "you just need a little assistance with the execution."

I sighed in relief wrapping my arms around her shoulders once more in thanks as the rest of my siblings and my husband trailed out of the house to help finish preparing the pasture for our guests and get the bonfire ready. It was a long time pack tradition to celebrate new additions to the pack families by having a special bonfire ceremony on the night of their first birthday. Seth and I were both excited and nervous for the big events of the night.

I happily sat back and watched as my family moved quickly around the yard putting up decorations and helping lay out the food on all of the tables. By this point Mom had wondered out with Gabe who immediately leaned down toward the ground and the instant his feet touched the grass he took off toddling full speed across the yard toward me giggling. He had really gotten quite good at balancing and was on the verge of breaking out into a run. I felt my heart swell in my chest and tears pool in my eyes as I watched my little tan skinned, green eyed, smiley faced son race toward me as quickly as his tiny legs and coordination would carry him, my mother right behind him prepared to catch him if his balance faltered.

Gabe was about halfway to me when I felt two solid arms wrap around my waist as the air filled with my Seth's scent. He pulled me to his chest and rested his chin on my shoulder chuckling.

"He's growing up so fast Angel. I feel like it's not fair, but then I think about how much faster Nessie grew and am grateful it hasn't been any faster than it has. You've done such a wonderful job with him Angel," he said with a kiss on my cheek.

"We," I said turning sideways in his arms to hug around his waist and yet still be able to keep my eyes on Gabe, turning my eyes to lock with his a moment, "We did a wonderful job with him." I leaned up as he tipped down to kiss seconds before we heard Gabe's screeching giggle a few feet away from us. We both turned and smiled down at him before we both knelt down in the grass holding our arms out to him.

"Good job Gabe! Good job buddy! You're getting to be such a big boy!"

He ran up to me wrapping his tiny arms around my neck and burying his face in my shoulder babbling incoherently, but apparently narrating his trek across the yard. I pulled him close to my chest as Seth stepped in front of me drawing the both of us into his embrace. Gabe giggle and turned to wrap his arms around Seth's neck and we transferred his little body into Seth's arms as I curled into his side wrapping my left arm behind is back and rubbing Gabe's back with my right hand soothingly.

"Well Mr. Birthday boy…are you ready for your first birthday party?" I asked excitedly.

He squealed and pointed to a button pinned on his shirt that looked like a blue ribbon that said 'I am one year old today!'

"That's right buddy, that says that today is your birthday," Seth praised.

We stood in the middle of the pasture for a few precious moments relishing in our family moment before the insanity of the day would begin. All too soon Gabe began to lean toward the ground indicating he wanted down while signing 'please' in the baby sign language we had taught him. Seth praised him for using is manners before setting him on his feet and he was off again weaving between the tables giggling happily and apparently making a beeline for Uncle Emmett.

Seconds later he apparently reached him because we heard the booming voice of Emmett echoing across the meadow, "Ugh! Whoa watch where you're going Gabeman, you nearly knocked me over! You sure are getting to be a big strong guy!" Then he started laughing after which Gabe began to giggle hysterically.

Then the voice of my mother echoed after him, "Emmett, you put that child down right now. He just ate his lunch and if you keep hanging him upside down he's going to end up getting sick!" She was only answered by louder laugher from Gabe.

Shaking our heads, Seth and I slowly turned and made our way back up to the house with our arms still draped across one another's midsections. Inside there was more chaos as Alice continued to chirp out orders and directing what appeared to be caterers to bring in more dishes that she apparently arranged a few weeks ago. She winked at us as we passed as I attempted to stop and argue but Seth tightened his grip on my waist and whispered that he would like to show me something. I looked up questioningly but followed.

He led me to the door to our bedroom turning to face me when got there and spun to face me pulling me closer and kissing me passionately on the lips. We stood there a few minutes enjoying a little alone time before he finally broke off the kiss with a wide excited looking smile and began whispering in my ear.

"I wanted to do something special for you today. Usually a kid's birthday is all about the kid and having a party and nobody thinks about taking the time to honor the mom who did all the hard work that day. I just wanted you to know that I haven't forgotten what you went through that day and I appreciate you so, so much."

He turned and opened the bedroom door to reveal candles and rose petals everywhere leaving a trail from the door to the bathroom. I turned looking questioningly at Seth and he smiled pulling me further into the room and whispering in my ear as he went. "It's a drawn out surprise, but it begins in here."

He led me to the bathroom where in our sunken Jacuzzi tub there was a sweet smelling and quite inviting looking bubble bath with a few rose petals scattered across the bubbles waiting for me, along with a few chocolate covered strawberries and a single flute of wine. I turned back with a look of surprise that morphed into a smile.

"Thank you so much sweetie…but I need to get the party ready."

He shook his head, "The pixie told me weeks ago that you were going to ask for help today and she has it all under control. According to her you have exactly forty minutes to enjoy the bath and twenty to get dressed before the first guests arrive."

I smiled and walked over to him running my hands up and down his chiseled chest with a slight pout on my lips. "But there's only one wine glass, aren't you joining me?"

He smiled and dipped down to brush his lips along my jaw a couple of times before brushing them over my earlobe. "All in good time, my Angel. I have to help set up the bonfire, but tonight they are taking Gabe and then we get the whole house all to ourselves all night long." I shivered as the excitement and anticipation jolted through my system and I smiled up at him hopping up to wrap my legs around his waist and give him a proper passion filled kiss to let him know his thoughtful surprises were more than appreciated.

Soon he let me back down and left the room and I slid into the cloud of bubbles relishing in the warmth and relaxation they provided. I took my time savoring my treats and the way my muscles relaxed, my mind constantly flittering between anxiety about the party that I tried to push away and excitement for the much needed alone time with Seth that night.

It had been quite a while since Seth and I had been able to be together in that way. I used to laugh when Nessie and Jake and Leah and Danny would talk about kids being like the sex police thinking that they were joking, but it was actually kind of true. I'm not sure how he knew, but it seemed like almost every night when Seth and I would actually be able to get some couple time together he would either wake up and not go back to sleep until the wee hours of the morning, or end up having a fever, or an earache, or cutting a new tooth…it was ALWAYS something and it left us terribly frustrated. If we managed to get couple time more than a couple of times a month we considered ourselves lucky.

Thirty-seven minutes later the water had cooled to the point that I decided it was time to get out. I stepped out of the tub and quickly dried my body and my hair pulling on a pair of nice capris and a dressy green satin sleeveless top and made my way back downstairs to see what was going on with the party plans. I stepped onto the back deck to look over the pasture and was amazed to see how much the scenery had changed.

Moon bouncers now filled the far side of the lawn for the kids, the bonfire wood had been piled a good six feet high inside the large fire circle we had created ready for the ceremony, and not too far away from it a small stage had been erected with what appeared to be the game Rock Band's instruments ready for use. The tables were all adorned and set with plates and cutlery and above the entire yard colorful paper lanterns were strung back and forth across from the trees that lined either side of the wide long pasture. It was simply amazing. It was a far cry from the quiet little event that I had initially planned, but I wasn't going to complain. I knew everyone would have fun and I also knew that my family wanted to do something special for Gabe for today too and this was one of the few things I would actually allow.

Soon the guests began to arrive, most of whom were surprised and shocked to see the elaborate set up. Seth and I greeted everyone as they arrived, occasionally having Gabe with us, but often he would disappear with random family members or pack teens only to be brought back again a little later when he would start yelling for 'DA DA' again. As we greeted our many guests, the younger kids all immediately squealed and ran off to play in the jumpers while my pack teens and a few of their friends all congregated near the stage checking out the big screen TV and stacks and stacks of games for them to choose from.

The party portion of the day went extremely well with Gabe receiving a mountain of presents in spite of the invitation stating presents were not expected. It wasn't like the kid didn't already have a family full of ridiculously rich vampires that loved to spoil him, along with Grandma and Grandpa Swan and Aunt Leah and Uncle Danny, not to mention the pack teens that were wild about my son too.

Gabe squealed excitedly all day running from table to table greeting his guests with big smiles and waves before running to the next spot. He ran non stop for the first three hours of the party before finally running himself completely out of steam and passing out in Seth's arms. Seth carried him inside and laid him down for his nap bringing the baby monitor receiver out with him, not that it was necessary with the half dozen vampires running around keeping their ears open for his cries, but we still felt it was better safe than sorry.

As Gabe napped we got to enjoy the party a little more without constantly keeping our eyes open for where he was and what he was getting into next. We eventually made our way over to the stage with the video game setup where the teens had all congregated and ended up joining in on some of the party games, both of us getting our hides thoroughly kicked and handed back to us on a silver platter by the teens. We laughed and shrugged as they teased us relentlessly for being old fuddy duddies to which we gently reminded them that they really weren't all that far away from being my age.

When Gabe's nap was over, Edward and Mom had managed to make it in to him and already have him back out for the party before we even had a chance to react to his cries on the baby monitor. They immediately brought him to me when he continued to fuss and cried "Maaaa Maaaa."

I listened in amazement at the monitor wondering if he really was saying my name for the first time during his birthday celebration or if it was just the vowel he chose to use for his cries today. The cries continued until he was me and then he immediately reached his arms toward me opening and closing his hands spastically squealing "MaMa, MaMa, MaMaaaaa!" I felt my eyes prick with the forming tears as the smile spread wide across my face and my heart swelled within my chest. My baby was finally calling me Mama. This moment held a close position behind the first time I saw him and the first time he smiled for me and reached for me…this was most definitely one of the best moments of my life since Gabe's birth.

I reached my arms out and enveloped my son in a tight hug as I held him close and he laid his head on my chest and sighed. "Mama."

"Yes baby, Mama's got you. I love you my little angel boy. You make me so happy."

He leaned up and smiled at me reaching his chubby little hand out and tangling his fingers in my hair before laying back down clutching my hair comfortingly like a security blanket. I finally came out of my special moment with my son to look over and see Seth beaming at me with his own set of watery eyes. Matching looks of sweet appreciation were on all of my family members nearby as they watched me rock back and forth on my feet with my son wrapped happily in my arms. I sighed happily and closed my eyes savoring the moment.

Before long, the sun began to droop in the sky eventually dropping to the horizon painting the clouds in the sky with long streaks of pink, red, lavender, and blue. Gabe looked up and cooed appreciatively as he pointed in the distance at the colorful display telling us all about it in his baby gibberish. Just as the last of the colors were leaving the sky a large torch was ceremoniously carried by Seth across the lawn and through the waiting guests as Jacob and the elders escorted him to the base of the towering wood pile.

They spoke a few words about the sacred bonfire and its bonding symbolism for the tribe a few moments before they turned to Seth and he carefully pushed the flaming torch into a little opening left at the base of the angled wood where the dried grass, leaves, and twigs left to provide the tinder and kindling were waiting. He quickly stepped away just as the dried material caught and began to burn brightly within the thick logs casting orange shimmers through the spaces between the large pieces of fuel. Before long the flames grew and licked at the air between the logs and began to wrap around them causing the fire to burn brightly in the now very dark night.

Gabe watched the fire in awe as it flashed in torrents of red, yellow, and orange, fascinated by the new imagery while I whispered warnings of danger in his ear and told him that it was hot and he needed to stay way. Everyone sat in quiet reverence for a while as the fire grew in intensity before Jacob stood up and addressed the crowd.

"I have been asked this night to talk and share the legends this evening as we are here to celebrate the first birthday of my nephew Gabriel Cullen Clearwater. Like all of the pack children, he already shows great promise. Young Gabe did not enter this world peacefully, but rather fighting a battle from the beginning for his first breath. Due to his struggles he was born strong of body and spirit. He has continually fascinated not only our family with his amazing physical advances, but his doctors as well and so in honor of this uniquely strong and brave little future warrior of our people, tonight I will share a story of our people that few know linked to the legend told the night we celebrated Gabe's Mother joining our tribe."

"Many years ago my father told the legend of the Paleface Angel, Mary Luna, who saved the Quileute from the paleface army by hiding the children in a cave in the forest and keeping them safe and quiet in the face of danger, effectively saving all future generations of the Quileute tribe. Tonight we share the story of her oldest son, Shipa Luna, whose name loosely translates into Black Moon."

"Like our little Gabe, Shipa Luna's entry into this world was a difficult one, and the age of medicine in which he was born was not prepared for the dangers of his unique birth. When he became stuck during delivery, his mother begged for the council to allow Shipa Luna to be removed from her womb with a knife so that at least one of them would be saved, as she knew that if nothing was done both would die. It was a sad day for the tribe when the Paleface Angel lost her life to save her son, but her sacrifice was not taken lightly, nor forgotten. Her son was named Shipa Luna to represent both the love of our people for Mary Luna and their great sadness at her loss. Shipa Luna received the benefit of not just one mother but dozens as the tribe worked together to do their best to provide all of the things that they knew Mary Luna would have provided her son if she had survived."

"Shipa Luna was strong and grew fast, advancing much more quickly than the rest of the young warriors in the tribe. He was strong, fast, and very smart and as soon as he was of age and began to phase, the tribal elders made him a warrior of the highest esteem. As the years passed, Shipa Luna took a wife and bore three strong sons with her. The years passed and most of the pack leaders slowly let go of their wolf, dropping back to the life of a regular tribe member eventually leaving Shipa Luna as the pack Alpha. Shipa Luna was a good and fair pack leader and defender of our people."

"He lived two human lifetimes and changed his name twice in order to blend in with the changing climate of our part of the world. With the settling of more and more palefaces near tribal lands, Shipa Luna eventually took on the name Silas Black. Many years after the passing of his first wife, Silas Black imprinted and took a second wife having one son and two daughters with her. The son was named Ephriam Black who would later become another strong alpha and leader of our people."

"During his leadership, many red eye came and left our lands, but it was upon the meeting of the strange yellow eyes who claimed to be something different was the first treaty formed with the Cullen family. It is amazing to look at how much has changed in the many years since Mary Luna came to these lands, helping to save our people from doom and then giving birth to a bloodline that has provided several great leaders of our people. It was the wise decisions of these leaders that led to our original treaty with the Cullens, a later friendship with them, and eventually the addition of their family members into our tribe. The web of fate that ties our past to our future and our families together making us stronger is quite impressive and humbling indeed."

"So on this day, the day of Gabriel Cullen Clearwater's first birthday, we celebrate our past, our present, and our future." Jacob made is way through the crowd reaching out for Gabe who jumped from my arms into Jacob's excitedly with a little squeal making everyone in the assembly laugh. He carried him to the front of the group and lifted him up onto his shoulders. "Please join me in officially welcoming Gabriel Cullen Clearwater to our tribe, for the rest of time his name will be among those of his ancestors in the annals of our history." With this he let out a howl to which each of the pack members both present and past joined in sending chills and trails of goose bumps across my skin.

After Jacob's tale was finished everyone began to socialize again as we gathered in small groups around the fire. I immediately made my way over to Jacob hugging him around his waist.

"I never knew any of that before. Why doesn't anyone ever share that story?"

Jake laughed, "Well, my Dad was the resident storyteller for many years and he was always a bit too humble to share the Black family legends. He didn't want it to look like he was bragging. If it weren't for the fact that you remind me of the Paleface Angel legend and how her story ends up being ultimately linked to the Cullens, I probably wouldn't have told it either, but I couldn't ignore how it all seemed to fit together. It's all kind of eerie when you think about it."

I nodded and whispered, "Yeah, it definitely is." I stood staring at the fire with my arm still looped around Jacob's waist as I thought of my dreams and how in some ways it feel like history repeating itself. A paleface army coming after the children of the tribe, the helpless human woman trying desperately to find a way to keep them safe, her son having to be cut from her to save his life, like pieces of a slightly skewed puzzle falling into place around my life, mirroring the legends of the past.

I was so lost in thought that I hadn't even realized Jacob was talking to me, or that Edward and Jasper were on either side of us looking at me with confused and worried expressions.

_**Lina, are you okay? **_Edward asked me as he looked me in the eyes.

_Yes, just lost in my own thoughts._

I felt his cool arms wrap around me pulling me from Jacob's side and into his chest as he caressed my hair. _**We love you Lina, everything will be okay. Everything seems to find a way to work itself out in the end. We will be fine.**_

_I hope so Edward. _I leaned away from his embrace to look at his face.

_I think it's time to start focusing on what's to come though. I want us to focus more on the research and I want to find somewhere more advanced to train. I had a dream the other night that gave me a new idea for something to try. _

I showed him my dream as I replayed the memory for myself while he watched on in interest. He frowned, _**I don't like what you are thinking though. I don't think it will come to that.**_

I smiled at him. _It may not, but either way I want to be prepared._

He hugged me closer once more before I felt him chuckle. _**It looks like your son is out for the count and it seems that someone else is anxious to get his wife back.**_

I turned and looked to see Gabe soundly sleeping on Bella's shoulder and Seth standing about five feet away watching me with dark eyes. I crossed the distance between us tipping up on my toes to meet his lips with mine as his arms wrapped around me pulling me close.

"Mrs. Clearwater, I think it's time we get out of here."

I looked up at him confused, "Get out of here, I thought that we were staying here tonight…the candles, the roses…"

He smiled and winked, "All a bit of a decoy. You family is staying here tonight with Gabe so that he can sleep in his own bed and we, my dear, are going to Seattle for the weekend. Your bag is already packed and in the car thanks to Alice, all we have to do is get in and drive. Happy Anniversary a few weeks late, my Angel."

I smiled tipping up to kiss him again. We have always celebrated our anniversary without fail, but this year Gabe had been cutting his most recent teeth and was feeling very bad and was very clingy, so we opted to forego the anniversary get away we had hoped to take in favor of comforting our son. I knew he had let it all go too easily and I couldn't help but chuckle to know he had this planned all along.

"I love you, Seth."

"I love you too Lina. Now let's go!" He cheered with a big wide smile as he grabbed my hands dragging me across the meadow toward the waiting car. I smiled as I saw my Shelby sitting in the drive ready to roll. Seth motioned for me to drive and I eagerly hopped behind the driver's seat. Since Gabe's birth I had only gotten a hand full of opportunities to drive my beloved classic. I turned the key revving the engine before peeling out of the driveway and down the road toward Seattle with a wide happy grin on my face.

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Author's Note: Well, I finally got a tangible update for you guys. I hope you liked it. I figure I should start off by addressing a few questions my Beta posed when she reviewed this chapter just to keep you guys from wondering too much.

_**1. Is Lina and Gabe a reincarnation of Mary Luna and her son? No, she's not the reincarnation, but it's more sort of a cycle of life type situation, more like a sort of a blatant example of history repeating itself in a way. **_

_**2. I just thought it would be good to mention I actually did research this and Shipa is actually the Quileute word for black. Although they had an accent mark in there that I don't know how to make the computer create. Anyway, that was FYI. There's also a Quileute word for moon, but I liked the idea of using Mary Luna's name in his name as a reverence of her memory type thing.**_

_**Hope you enjoyed the update and please take the time to review. I'm anxious to hear your opinions!**_


	36. Leading a Double Life

**_Author's Note: Wow, last chapter didn't get as many reviews as the chapters typically do. I think everyone's losing momentum and a couple of the reviews very kindly warned me that they were losing interest and getting a bit of a toothache from the sickeningly sweetness of the last chapter. Yeah, I know it was pretty sappy, but I was sort of lost in the memories of my own son's first year and also it all feeds into Lina's need to savor the peace with her family while she still has it. Anyway, I'm a sappy person and it really showed in the last chapter, but please don't give up now guys…we're seriously in the home stretch, getting really close to the big action I've been foreshadowing from the beginning of ITSOTD and if you stop reading now you'll miss all of the action. Hope you guys are still reading out there. Anyway, here's the newest update. It is another fairly short one and yet once again stretches long periods of time and has a lot of summarizing of the events that have been taking place. Hope you enjoy._**

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36. Leading a Double Life

As my life continued on and days turned into weeks and months, it really seemed like I lived a double life. During the day I was Lina Clearwater, wife, mother, and teacher, who spent her days cleaning up after a messy toddler while teaching him about colors and shapes and how to use his manners, caring for our home, spending time reminding my husband how much I loved him, and teaching my students the finer points of creative writing and classic literature.

Then when the evening came my life took on a darker shade as I struggled to increase my defensive skills in hand to hand combat and advanced weapons training at various nearby dojos and continued helping my father and brother research the properties and venom and what happens when you combine it with different types of metals in an attempt to create a weapon that would be of some sort of use against vampire skin. It was one of the few endeavors that I didn't feel guilty sinking copious amounts of the Cullen fortune into funding.

Unfortunately the research was slow and daunting. No matter what we tried it always turned into a disaster. Our biggest problem was in order for the metal to be hot enough to be molten and combine with the venom in some form it would inevitably be too hot to keep the highly flammable venom from combusting into roaring flames. In the same vein, anything that could be shaped and controlled at cooler temperatures that would not ignite the venom would inevitably be far too weak to survive impact with a substance as hard and strong as vampire skin. It seemed the harder we tried the more disappointing the results became.

It was a struggle to keep my life balanced and it saddened me when I would think about how little time I had left over between caring for my own family and preparing for the dark future ahead to spend with the rest of my family. I only got to see the rest of my siblings for any type of social call once a month if I was lucky. Thankfully my son and husband were able to spend a lot more time with them than I did and Gabe was very close with all of his aunts and uncles as well as his grandparents.

Looking back at his earlier days, it's kind of humorous to think about how concerned I was with Gabe's limited vocabulary because pretty much the minute he turned two he started talking away and never seemed to stop. The kid had an insatiable curiosity constantly questioning everything and then asking you to expand upon your answer. I heard the words "But Why?" more times in a single day than most people would hear them in an entire month. While yes, it did get annoying at times getting to the point where I would simply answer "To make you ask why" or "because I said so" just to finally end the interrogations, it also made me happy to know that he actually had a very inquisitive view of the world and a hunger for knowledge that I wanted to encourage…well most of the time at least.

Gabe was also all boy. That urge to climb and the incredible energy that had him running by the time he turned one did not diminish as he got older. By the time he was two it was almost like I was watching two toddlers instead of just one as he would zoom around in a whirlwind of energy. Even though he was active and overflowing with energy, Gabe was also a very sweet, kind, caring, and extremely friendly child. He never seemed to meet a stranger and always had an amazing capacity to empathize with others. He was a handful and a half, but he really was a good kid.

Knowing how difficult it was to get pregnant the first time around with Gabe, Seth and I decided when Gabe was nearly two that it was time to start trying for our second child. We knew she was in our future, and we had a general idea of how far apart in age they would be, so we didn't stress over everything quite as much as we did with Gabe. I knew another pregnancy would hinder my preparing for the coming battle, but I also knew that this baby girl was destined to be in our future. The December after Gabe turned two we had another little stick tell us with two little pink lines that our baby girl was on her way.

With the knowledge that no matter what happened, this baby would most likely be my last, I took a big step and resigned from my teaching position at the school. The pack kids were very disappointed that I wouldn't be around every day with them anymore, but I told them all that no matter what we were all a part of the pack family and would remain close and that they could come visit me any time.

Once my job was no longer an issue, and training was impossible, I put my full energy into two things, spending every possible moment with my husband, son, and extended family and kicking the research Dad, Edward, and I were doing into full gear. We finally gave up on taking any earth bound alloy and trying to combine it in any way with venom and began looking at alternative ways to manipulate the venom itself. We had learned that venom could be crystallized under the right conditions created through the use of liquid nitrogen, but we couldn't seem to actually manipulate the crystals into any specific pattern or form.

Our research was dangerous and I was quickly beginning to get disheartened. My father and Edward were constantly encouraging me not to give up, but I was beginning to feel hopeless. I fought hard to hold onto the hope that a brighter future was ahead for us, a happy ending to the drama that haunted my dreams. My dreams provided me with a lot of detail, but it always led up to the moment before I would make my move and then it would stop. I never got to see the actual battle, if anyone was hurt, if anyone was saved, if I survived, or if it was all for naught…all I knew was that I had to do something, to find a way, for some reason I was going to be the key. The more failures we had in finding any kind of answers, the more depressed I became. I began to wonder if I could do anything or if I couldn't see the rest of the event because there was nothing to be done, if my dream ended because at that moment I would die and since I was no longer alive I was not allowed to know what happened beyond my death.

I went on in this state of flux for weeks. One minute I would manage to lose myself in the moment as I spent precious time with my son or my siblings or my husband, and then the next I would be as low as I could be. Of course, I'm sure my pregnancy hormones didn't help much with that either, but the mental strain was making my emotional valleys far more deep and dark than they had ever been during my pregnancy with Gabe.

My first pregnancy had been a relative breeze compared to this pregnancy. My morning sickness was definitely worse and my blood pressure continued to spike often, most likely due to my stress levels. It was during my first sonogram when the doctor handed me a stack of pamphlets about pregnancy, motherhood, and cord blood donation that the epiphany hit and I ran straight to my family's home to consult Edward and my father on my idea. They questioned my sanity at first and then conceded that it was worth a shot. That same day my father sent off for the samples of Gabe's cord blood that we had banked upon his birth. I prayed he would never need it in the future and consoled myself with the thought that if I couldn't find a way to keep him safe, he would have no future in which he would need it. As soon as the vials arrived we began to carefully plan our newest experiments desperate not to waste the precious elixir stored inside the tiny vials.

My epiphany proved to be useful. We began to manipulate the function of venom on human cells in order to manufacture exactly what we had been hoping for. The idea had been a stroke of genius that had to have been implanted in my head directly from God himself. We worked together for days working out formulas and ways in which to make the venom work on the stem cells located in Gabe's cord blood to do as we desired.

Stem cells in a human are basically a blank slate, they can become anything the body needs it to be, so with a little manipulation we finally figured out a way to force the venom manipulated stem cells to link and form into a complex razor sharp strip of material very similar to vampire teeth in sharpness and texture and yet more of a long flexible strip not unlike a long thin strip of aluminum.

The day we managed to create the very first prototype of the new material I felt true hope for the first time in ages. It was dangerous and difficult to work with the new material for all of us, as we soon found out the first time Edward cut himself with the material while trying to move it from one petri dish to another and stupidly deciding to push it against his finger with a little force to see what it would do. It was a tiny cut, but it proved that the material would in fact do exactly as we hoped. We were a long, long way from being able to figure out a way to weaponize it in any way, shape, or form considering that if even the vampires couldn't handle the material then there would be no way a human could ever handle it. We had time to figure those things out though. The first major step in the process was thankfully completed and for the first time in months I felt like maybe we would have a real chance after all.

When we finally made our major discovery with the stem cells I finally took a real step back from the whole process and fully submerged myself into the world of my family. I began spending all of my time, day or night, with either my son or my husband or one of my siblings. I knew these last few days, weeks, and months were very precious and I was done wasting them with worry. I was now fully prepared to enjoy my pregnancy, the birth of my last baby, and the childhood of my wonderful and precious son. Above all I wanted to make sure that no matter what happened to me in the future that he would have good memories of our time together and he would know beyond any doubt how very much I loved him. I hated how much time I was spending away from him trying to prepare for what was to come, but in reality it was all for him. I loved him more than life itself and I was determined to keep him safe no matter what.

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Author's Note: I'm struggling with the fine balance of moving the story along and yet trying not to skip too much or make it too detached. I hope I'm doing okay. I'm not entirely sure when I will be able to update again. We are going on vacation for a week beginning Memorial day weekend and won't be back until that next weekend and in the meantime I need to be getting us packed and organized, get the oil changed in the car and make sure it's safe for travel, etc…so I'm guessing I probably won't be able to squeeze in another update until sometime in June. I never know when inspiration will strike or when time will avail itself to me to write, and we will be taking the laptop with us, so if it doesn't make me too dizzy to type while driving, then I might utilize our 12 hours in the car each way to see if I can write some more. Anyway, I just wanted to warn you that there will probably be a bit of a wait before the next update. Thanks for reading and please take time to review! Oh and Happy Mother's Day!


	37. Sickness and Shifting Futures

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Gabe is from my imagination though. BTW…until I read the thank yous at the end of Twilight the other day, I hadn't even remembered one of Stephenie's sons name is Gabe. She also has one named Seth too. Go figure. LOL.**

**Author's note: This is another short one that I got in before the vacation begins. Hope you enjoy. **

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37. Sickness and Shifting Futures

We made our way into the pediatrician's office with a very sick little Gabe cuddled to Seth's chest. I wished I could carry and comfort him, but since this pregnancy was more difficult and I was having issues with my blood pressure and other similar issues, I was ordered not to carry or pick up my poor baby boy. We checked in at the front desk and moved to sit in the waiting room for the nurse to call us back.

I reached toward Gabe and Seth maneuvered him so his head was resting on my chest while his body was still cradled in Seth's arms. I stroked his hair and tried to comfort him as tears continued to flow down his tiny face. I knew for sure he had an ear infection and I suspected strep throat as well. His fever was quite high and I was anxious for the doctor to see him and begin whatever treatment they suggested ASAP.

We only sat for about ten minutes, but it seemed to drag on for an hour before our favorite smiling nurse, Mary came out and called Gabe's name. Most of the Parents in La Push came to Forks in order to take their kids to see Dr. Gubin, the only specialized pediatrician in the area unless you wanted to drive all the way to Port Angeles. Mary, started working in Dr. Gubin's office only a few weeks before Gabe was born and had been there through those rough early weeks of his infancy. Mary was beautiful with a dark olive like complexion and long soft curly light brown hair and dark eyes. She spoke with a slight accent that we had never quite figured out and yet never felt brazen enough to ask.

Mary had a very good rapport with Gabe and he trusted her implicitly. If there were directions the doctor would give that Gabe would crinkle his nose at, Mary would sit down with him and explain how important it was to listen to the doctor's directions and follow them or else he would only feel worse, and eventually he would relent and do as the doctor had asked.

Mary led us to the green exam room and took Gabe's temperature and other stats as she asked us to detail what was troubling him. She nodded along with a scowl as she took notes in his chart for the doctor to review.

"Yes, yes, this has been a very big problem lately. Gabe is too young to attend school yes?"

We nodded. "I just asked because we have seen quite a few of the reservation children this last week with the exact same symptoms. Most of them picked it up from school, perhaps Gabe plays with some of their younger siblings. It is most likely another case of strep throat as the rest."

She got up and smiled running her hand lovingly over Gabe's hair as he lay on his side on the exam table with his head near the chair I observed from. "Don't worry my sweet Gabriel. The doctor will give you medicine to make you all better. You'll be back out playing with your friends in a few days."

"Thank you Mary," I replied with a smile before she winked and closed the door.

Soon the door opened and the short plump elderly doctor shuffled in with Mary following right behind carrying a tray with a long white cotton swab inside of a long clear tube and a dropper bottle on top. She smiled over at us and stayed out of the way as the doctor examined Gabe and asked him questions with Gabe quietly answered in a tiny gravelly voice.

After asking him about the baby he turned to me with a knowing smile. "So your dreams turned out to be true after all?"

I smiled and nodded and I heard Mary ask behind him what he meant by the dreams, so I went on to explain to her about the dreams I've had since I was a teenager about my children and that the older was a boy and the younger was a girl, leaving out, of course, all of the less pleasant portions of my dreams. She listened intently with an interested gleam in her eye as she nodded along.

After a bit more examination the doctor turned to us and sighed. "I'm ninety nine percent sure he has strep and a very bad ear infection. The strep is causing the throat pain of course, and I'm pretty sure his nausea is due to an inner ear infection giving him vertigo and nausea. I will go ahead and swab his throat to test for strep to be sure, but I'm fairly confident considering it has been going around out there on the reservation that's what he has."

He began to scribble on his prescription tablet as he continued. "I'm giving you an antibiotic for the strep and the ear infection, along with ear drops for his ears. We'll give him a dose here to help ease a bit of his pain. Continue giving him the children's Tylenol for his fever and throat pain, but since he's gained a bit more weight I want you to give him the larger dosage that I have written on your paperwork. If he seems to get worse or has any more new symptoms or his fever gets higher than one hundred and two I want you to call the office and we'll get him back in here."

We nodded as he rattled off his instructions and asked if we had any questions. Seth and I both shook our heads in unison and the elderly doctor made his way back to the table and patted Gabe's arm sweetly. "You get to feeling better soon Mr. Gabe. I want you to be sure to rest and drink lots of fluids and eat soup for your parents to help make you feel better. I know it hurts, but you need to do your best…and if you're extra good about it I told your mommy that you can have some ice cream and icy pops to help make it feel better too." Gabe smiled a bit and nodded quickly looking at me for confirmation to which I smiled and nodded slightly.

On our way back to the house we stopped in at the pharmacy to fill the prescription and then Seth ran into the grocery story while I sat in the car with Gabe to pick up some juice, soup, ice pops, and ice cream for our sick little man.

When we got home Seth carried him up to his room and got him settled in while I relaxed back onto the couch and put my feet up. Technically I was supposed to be on partial bed rest thanks to my borderline high blood pressure, but there was no way anybody was going to keep me home when Gabe was so ill. I was determined to go to that doctor's appointment, and everyone knew better than to try to stop me.

Seth made his way back down shortly after and settled on the couch next to me laying his head back on the couch. The poor guy was exhausted having been up most of the night with a cranky toddler who spent half the night crying and the other half snoring. I reached over and directed him to lay down on the couch with his head in my lap as I played with his hair.

"Take a nap honey, you deserve it. You've had a long night, and I'm awake for now. Mom said she was going to come over this afternoon and stay to help out and give you a chance to rest tonight. Not like she can sleep anyway," I said with a smirk. He smiled up at me and reached up to hold my hand with a sigh.

"I always knew you did a lot around here, but it wasn't until you were put on bed rest that I realized EXACTLY how much you do. I don't know how you do it all…I'm struggling here."

I chuckled. "You forget honey, I'm not doing it all alone. I have you there to help me. You're taking it all on yourself right now. Don't worry though. Once my mom comes through that door you're going to be hard pressed to keep her and the rest of the family from pitching in so much you'll probably start running out of things to do!"

He smiled and then his eyes darkened as he pulled my hand to his lips and kissed the back. "Are the dreams getting any better?"

I shook my head as I closed my eyes to hold back the tears I felt prickling there. We never talked about my dreams or what was to come. It was too hard and we were both trying so hard to live in the now and enjoy it and not let the shadows of what is to come get in the way of us enjoying what was happening in front of us.

"I know you've been right about so much so far, but I hope to God you are wrong this time. I can't bear the thought of anything happening to you or the kids. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you Angel." His voice broke at the end of the sentence and I pulled him closer as I felt the tears trickle down my cheek.

"I know baby. I know." For the first time in a long time we just sat together and cried for the unknown we were facing and the things we stood to lose. In every one of my dreams Seth was safely behind my family with my kids in his arms. I held onto the hope that if everything did come to pass as I had dreamed that somehow my family could be spared. As long as that could happen then I could handle anything that came my way.

Finally after a long time sobbing in each other's arms I felt Seth's breathing level off and deepen as he relaxed onto my legs with his head perched on my stomach listening to our baby girl. My mother and Bella showed up just in time for Gabe to wake up from his nap and they rushed off to go take care of him.

Seth slept in my arms for a long time until I was forced to wake him up when I could no longer take the pressure that had built up in my pea sized bladder, at which point he carried me up to our room where he climbed into bed and I joined him after I had taken care of my personal needs. I surrounded myself in my cocoon of pillows, letting Seth support me from behind and sank into his comforting embrace.

I opened my eyes to find I was, as usual standing in the middle of the Volturi guard as my family stood sentinel across from us on the far side of the field. I began once again to turn an appraising eye at the scene looking to make sure everyone was in their usual places when my eyes fell on Seth standing behind my family with the rest of the pack parents. I started to hyperventilate when I realized Gabe was gone. Seth was holding our daughter who was younger than the nine to twelve months old that she had appeared to be in my last dream, and Gabe was no longer with him. Seth looked panicked as his eyes met mine and then I felt a tug at my pants leg and looked down to find a sobbing Gabe wrapped around my leg taking in the scene with horror stricken eyes.

I sat straight up in bed screaming with tears flowing down my face. I couldn't breathe and I felt like my chest was going to cave in as I gasped for breath and yet felt as though my lungs were not filling with air. Seth was sitting next to me trying to soothe me while rubbing my back as I looked at him with panicked eyes clutching my chest and desperately trying to take a breath. A moment later my mother, Bella, and Edward burst through the door and I felt a bit relieved that Edward was here with them and could explain my panic while I tried to recapture my breath and calm my body down.

He looked at me with wide eyes as he sucked in a breath that he really didn't need. "Something has changed. The dream changed and Gabe wasn't safe with us, he was with Lina in the middle of the guard."

All of the eyes in the room turned to gaze at me in concern as I finally managed to regain a steady breath, only to be replaced by my sobs as I collapsed into Seth's chest. I didn't know what had changed or why, but it was the worst changes possible. Things were going to happen sooner than I had hoped and now it seemed my son was going to be in even more danger than before.

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Author's Note: Hi everyone. The last chapter got a little bit better response, but I promise you guys that this stuff is going somewhere. I know some people are feeling like these chapters are filler chapters, but I promise you it's not simply filler. The last two chapters and this one actually all have pretty major significance to the story line. Don't give up!!

**A special thanks to my beta Mel for being so sweet as to take time to work on this while fighting off the flu. **

_**This was a surprise update I didn't expect to make, but now I can pretty much guarantee you won't be seeing another one until after our vacation. In the mean time thanks for reading and have a great two weeks!**_


	38. Family Meeting Revelations

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**_Author's Note: Well here's the next installment. We're getting really close now. Only a few more chapters yet and then the epilogue and we'll be done. I'm not going to give a specific number of chapters because sometimes the story ends up taking on a life of its own when I least expect it, but we're almost there._**

_**I didn't get much writing time while on vacation and ended up spending what time I did have on the way down beginning an idea I had for an entry in The Age of Edward contest. It's an M rated story that takes place during World War II. I posted it yesterday if anyone who is old enough to read it is curious. I'm so glad to be home though. It was great to spend time with family and friends, but it was a long week.**_

_**Thanks to my Beta Mel for her work on this story. She's not only nice to work with, but she's so supportive and I really appreciate all of her help.**_

_**Well without further ado…welcome to Chapter 38 and please take time to review and give me your opinions!**_

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38. Family Meeting Revelations

Within half an hour of waking from my latest horrific nightmare, the entire Cullen family along with Jake and three of his top pack members were assembled in our living room for a planning session. Edward carried me downstairs to take part in the meeting laying me gently on the couch and covering me with a thick blanket insisting that it was chilly downstairs. I smiled up at him grabbing his hand as he went to walk away and squeezing it. He squeezed back reassuringly before I released him so he could take his place between Bella and Nessie. Sarina had been sent upstairs to take care of Gabe and also to attempt to shield her from the situation.

Seth paced the floor in the middle of the room as everyone settled into place for the meeting finally stopping next to me and reaching down to take my hand before starting to talk while still looking intensely into my eyes.

"We don't know how or why, but Lina's dream tonight shows that something has changed. For the first time ever Gabe was not safe behind friendly lines, but instead he was clinging to her leg in the middle of the Volturi guard. We need to come up with a strategy to keep that from happening. Any ideas?"

The family began to immediately burst out into a rumble of comments and questions wanting more details about the dreams. In an attempt to keep life as calm as possible, the content of my dreams and the things I had learned from them were pretty well kept between my father, Edward, Seth, and I. Nobody else knew what odds we faced or the fact that I was pretty sure that I would not walk away from the confrontation alive.

I started weaving the tales of my dreams slowly, connecting all of the dots for them that I had managed to put together through my journaling and analysis of my dreams. When I was done they all looked at me with matching faces of fear and worry.

"But I don't understand Lina," Alice finally piped up from across the room. "I know I can't see any of this because of the inclusion of the whole pack, but why are you standing there alone and why does your vision just stop like that? If you can see all of that, then why don't you see how it all turns out?"

I swallowed hard and sighed as I studied the pattern on the blanket that rested over the lower half of my body.

_You have to tell them…all of it. _Edward thought for my benefit. I looked up to lock eyes with him.

**I can't. What if Aro gets one of them without Bella around to shield them? It will all be for nothing if they discover my plans.**

_They have to know Lina. They need to know what you are walking into and what has to happen or else they will end up making it worse and possibly ruining everything._

**They're really not going to like it.**

He nodded with a sad look in his eyes. _None of us like it Lina. It took Dad, Seth, and I years to even begin to accept what has to happen, but if they don't know then they will most definitely get themselves and possibly you killed before it can be done. It's time._

I sighed and felt the tears welling in my eyes as I looked up to meet the faces of the rest of my family and friends.

"Alice, everyone, it's time you learn the real plan and what I am going to have to do. You're not going to like it. Matter of fact you are going to hate it and you are going to fight me every step of the way on this, but we've analyzed every other option and this is the only way. I don't know exactly why I don't see the outcome, but I suspect it is because I won't be making it out alive."

The entire room save the three men who already knew sucked in audible gasps of air in unison before breaking out in a cacophony of hysterical questions and arguments. A wave of anxiety rushed through the room as Jasper reacted to my news before the regained control and pushed a wave of calm shortly afterward. The room began to quiet but every pair of eyes in the room were cast anxiously on my face and I could tell that if they were capable of producing tears, my mother and sisters would be crying. I took a deep breath and continued on.

"I've known from the first time I had this dream at sixteen that I had to do something. In every single dream I might not have known what I would do, but I always woke up just as I started to take action. For many years I was frustrated with my frail humanity knowing that I was completely hopeless and helpless. Over the years I continued to try to think of ways that I could balance the playing field, fight back, and actually provide some sort of assistance in the conflict. A couple of years ago as I walked by a chemistry class in the middle of an experiment I got an idea. I asked Dad if anyone had ever experimented with crystallizing or changing the chemical state of venom."

The eyes watching me widened as they began to put together my thought process. "Dad, Edward, and I started soon after researching all types of materials and how they would interact with venom in an attempt to create some type of weapon, but all of our attempts were useless. It wasn't until I became pregnant again that a new epiphany struck that we found a possible solution. When venom works it transforms human cells into the razor sharp and impenetrable skin and teeth of your vampire bodies, and so it made sense that somehow manipulating that process on unspecified human stem cells could possibly have better results."

I saw a hint of pride shine in my family's eyes as they listened to the work we had put into the process of discovering our secret weapon, but the pride immediately fell into fear and panic as I outlined the remainder of my plans. The instant I was finished the room was once again filled with the thunderous arguments of my family members. The newly informed were yelling in great anger at my father, Edward, and Seth.

"How could you allow her to do this?" "There has to be another way." "You can't let her do this!" "This is just so wrong." "No! No way in hell is my baby sister going to sacrifice herself like that! We don't even know if it's going to work. Over my dead body are you doing this Lina!"

Then the whole room fell into silence as one voice of reason spoke above the rest. Bella's voice called out from her spot where she was clinging to Edward's arm frozen solid and staring into the void of space in front of her.

"This plan could never work unless I'm there to shield you the entire time. Otherwise the second Aro touches you he will know everything and they will take you out before you can take your first breath in his presence."

The entire room froze only their heads moving as their gaze shifted from Bella to me and back to Bella. I felt the smile spreading across my face and leading to the room falling into stunned confusion when their faces turned once more back to me.

I chuckled a little with a smug smile. "Well, there is just one more thing you guys don't know. I discovered it some time ago, but I've been keeping it to myself until I could perfect it a little better."

This time every single face in the room drew into a perplexed expression, but Edward in particular.

"I discovered it on accident one day while carrying on one of our special conversations with Edward when I found myself wishing I could make him hear one thing when I was really thinking another. To my amazement he responded to what I wanted him to hear instead of what I was really thinking."

I looked at Edward whose face was drawn into a deep brooding frown and gave him a small smile. "I promise, I only did it with insignificant things as I practiced honing the new ability. I never kept anything major from you." I saw him sigh looking a bit hurt but in his thoughts I could see him appreciating the need to keep the fact to myself and the benefits the new ability would have before I addressed the group as a whole again.

"It's very limited. I can't seem to make it extend to other people and it seems to only work with mind reading abilities, but basically I can shield my own thoughts and replace them with something else, sort of like combining Bella and Nessie's gifts."

I could hear murmurs of surprise. "I know it works with Edward, but my only hope is that it works with Aro too…but right now the most important issue is Gabe's safety. There is no way I can do what needs to be done if he is there with me. I can't risk his life like that. It's way too dangerous. So what we need to do now and stop arguing about the things that cannot and will not be changed and focus on the things that we may just have some chance of fixing. How can we keep Gabe from ending up on that side of the line with me?"

We debated back and forth for the next hour before it was decided that the family was going to move into the house with us for the time being. Gabe would go nowhere without a minimum of two vampire family members in tow.

We had just wrapped up the debate and the ladies had all gotten up and begun making their way toward the door to go to the main homestead and pack up any supplies they believed they might need for their extended stay. The house would be crowded, but at least we didn't have to worry about providing beds for the eight new houseguests that would be camped out with us for an unspecified amount of time. Before the ladies could leave Sarina came slowly down the stairs holding Gabe's hand.

Sarina brought him to me and he climbed up into my lap and curled himself around my stomach burying his tiny face in my neck.

"I'm sorry Aunt Lina, but he woke up crying and wouldn't stop until I promised to bring him to you. He kept talking about his dream and the scary men in black."

All movement in the room stopped as I felt my lungs freeze mid breath. I reached my hand up to stroke Gabe's hair away from his forehead noticing that his fever appeared to have broken as I soothed him and whispered in his ear. "Did you have a bad dream baby?"

He nodded and whimpered as he clamped his eyes closed and buried his face deeper in my hair. I looked up to lock eyes with Edward listening as he sorted through Gabe's memories of the dream that he was attempting to escape in the curtain of my hair. My breathing sped and my eyes began to water as I listened to Edward analyze Gabe's thoughts of standing next to me surrounded by towering figures in black cloaks as he cried and held onto my leg.

I pulled Gabe tighter to my body and kissed the top of his head as I fought to suppress the sobs that were building within me in an attempt to not upset him any further. I was beginning to lose my struggle when to my relief my mother stepped in and asked Gabe if she could tuck him back in and sit with him while he slept.

He hugged me closer and kissed my cheek as he whispered, "I love you, Mommy. I know you will protect me from the scary men. I saw it before I woke up." I squeezed him tighter focusing on the feeling of him in my arms before finally allowing my mother to take him with her back to his bedroom. The second he was out of the room I felt myself collapse as the dam crumbled and my sobs rumbled through my body.

Seth rushed to hold me and soothe me as I cried. I could feel a dozen emotions vibrate though me from his touch. My poor Seth felt so helpless and desperate to hold on to everyone he held dear. He still refused to accept the plan as being the only option for the survival of our loved ones. Every night he would plead with me to find another way, but I reassured him over and over that there was no other way.

His mood had just shifted into a heart wrenching compulsion to hold me close and never let me go before a thought from Edward trickled through the emotional onslaught. It was something he was seeing in Gabe's dream as he slept in his bed upstairs. He was once again safely on my family's side of the conflict and now Gabe, Seth, and the baby were flanked by Emmett and Rose behind and to his right, with Jasper and Alice to his left and in front of him. They were all in defensive crouches standing sentinel in front of my family. I smiled a little and sent up a silent prayer of hope that Gabe's dream would come to pass instead of my most recent one.

In Gabe's dream I look at them all one by one before Edward speaks on my behalf to tell everyone that I love them and I'm sorry before the Volturi side of the line begins to shuffle and rumble in confusion. The typically precise and stoic ranks of the guard appear to be in chaos for a moment before a ball of flame ignites in the middle of the line near where I had been standing. Seth's screams can be heard above the mournful cries of my family seconds before I hear my poor son screaming for me from his bedroom on the second floor.

An instant later my mother appeared once more at my side with a shivering Gabe wrapped in her arms. I reached out as he practically dove into my arms his warm tears drenching my shoulder as he grabbed tightly around my neck begging me not to die. Seth knelt in front of us wrapping us both in his arms, attempting to soothe both of us.

I took a deep breath and held him close. "Momma's going to make you safe my sweet baby boy. Momma's going to make it all better." I rubbed small circles in his back and hummed to him as I heard Edward relay Gabe's dream in a pained voice. Just as he finished sharing the details I felt Gabe's breath soften into a steady rhythm, as his body grew limp against mine.

Moments later I joined him in slumber and as my dreams began to unfold the events now mirrored what Edward had seen in Gabe's dream, but as usual stopped just before the physical confrontation began. I jerked awake as I felt someone pulling Gabe's weight from my body and I wrapped my arms tighter around his tiny body shaking my head no at my husband who was attempting to move Gabe back to his room.

He looked at me concerned before sighing and settling on the floor next to the couch and twisting so he could wrap his arms around our son and me. We stayed that way for the rest of the night as we slept together in one another's arms. I awoke occasionally when Gabe or Seth would shift in their sleep and each time I would send up a silent prayer that we could pull it off. I really didn't care about myself anymore. All that mattered to me was that I would be able to make my family safe once and for all.


	39. Gotta Have Faith

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I've had fun adding Lina to Stephenie's vision.**

_**Author's Note: Well, we're really close now. I have actually finished the story and have shipped the last several chapters off to my awesome beta MelissaAnne00. There are four more chapters after this one (the last two have been nearly completed for months now), although I may choose to combine two of them…we'll see and I will spread them out over this week once Mel is done with them and I get a chance for one last read through and polish. At any rate, please enjoy the last fluff heavy relationship filled chapter before all heck breaks loose. Thanks you guys and I hope you enjoy!**_

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39. Gotta Have Faith

The weeks went by slowly and the bed rest sucked big time, but at the same time I was grateful for the greater amounts of precious time it gave me with my siblings and parents. I fought so hard not to be the unbearable grumpy whiny miserable whale that I felt myself to be. I think I did a fairly decent job of keeping myself in check, although I often got funny looks from Edward and Jasper who knew full well what I was feeling and wanting to say before I managed to filter it through to something far less hurtful.

I got a little piece of each day with a different family member, as they would swap out in shifts of staying with me and keeping me occupied. They would play cards with me or watch movies or simply play with Gabe near me so I could watch and enjoy seeing him happy.

Jasper and I resumed guitar lessons although it was more than a little difficult with my massive tummy in the way. The baby loved the music though and would often squirm and kick until I would start to play and sing along and then she'd relax and stop moving.

Alice would surround me with catalogues of baby clothes and gear excitedly picking out little baby dresses that cost more than some people spend on several outfits and planning color schemes for her wardrobe depending on who she ended up looking more like.

Bella and I would simply read together as I would lean against her while she played with my hair, usually lulling me to sleep in the process.

Emmett would show up every afternoon with another movie to watch. It started off with him protecting his rep with action movie after action movie, pointing out moves I should learn when I "wipe the floor with the Voltidouchebags" which would inevitably make me laugh and then need to pee. Leave it to Emmett to find a way to bring humor to my looming future and actually manage to make me relax a bit. I had to admit…I'd love to be able to take them out like River in Serenity when she was fighting off the Reavers in the last epic battle scene. I often found myself wondering what branch of martial arts that move was from or if it was pure Hollywood.

Rose usually just played with Gabe the whole time she sat with me, teaching him songs and helping him make 'feel better soon' cards for me and welcome home signs for the baby. She really did have such an amazingly kind, motherly touch. I smiled sadly knowing that she would probably be one of the first ones in line to help Seth with the kids after I was gone.

Mom would always show up during her shift with scrap booking supplies and we would work together on scrapbooks of Gabe and a special book I had started making for my kids with notes and messages with pictures telling them about myself and also how much I would always love them. I wanted to be sure that even if I wasn't there, that they would have a way to know just how much I cared.

Jake, Nessie, and Sarina came by once a day to spend time with me and play with Gabe and just visit. Sarina didn't know the full story, but I could tell that she knew more than she let on and yet was somehow keeping it from Edward. Part of me wondered if she and I shared a skill or two along the way. It was an instinct that told me that she was aware of the danger ahead even while she never gave it away in the slightest through her actions or any of the thoughts I had gleaned from Edward.

After his initial shock at my new skill we began working together on honing it even more and also carrying on internal conversations. It was kind of funny to see how much it unnerved him at times to have the shoe on the other foot and know that his thoughts weren't private anymore either. Sometimes it was like an annoying echo though when we were working hard because I could hear his thoughts reading my thoughts about reading his thoughts. It was sort of like constantly repeating the same sentence three or four times in your head before you actually managed to say it with every statement. It wasn't so bad when we treated it like a regular normal conversation, but when we were actually striving to read and ascertain something from the other it usually got pretty frustrating.

My time with Dad was nice as well. We typically spent our time talking about the things he had seen throughout his many years on the earth…the people he had met, the places he had gone, the historically important events that he experienced first hand…it was all so fascinating. It never ceased to amaze and sadden me to think of how many years he spent all alone before finally changing Edward and later Mom and the rest. I really couldn't imagine such seclusion. My whole life I had been surrounded by a house full of people, and then once I was married and lived away from them, we still communicated constantly and I also grew accustomed to being near the pack and our other friends and family a lot. So the idea of being completely and totally alone in the world was so foreign and alien to me and more than a little heartbreaking. I was so happy that he wasn't alone anymore.

Although my time with my family was important, my time with my Seth was the best. At least once a day the whole family would find places to be taking Gabe. They would take him either to the park to play or to go do something outside of the house leaving Seth and I home alone just to be together and appreciate each other.

In addition to everything else that was going on in our lives, I couldn't help but feel a strong sense of guilt over the fact that so much in my relationship with Seth had changed. I knew it was supposed to; no couple can stay newlyweds and be all about the other forever. Life, jobs, kids, and other responsibilities often get in the way of that total absorption with your life mate, but the massiveness of the future we faced and my fierce determination to be as prepared as possible left us with very little one on one couple time over the past couple of years.

I knew I had been neglecting my marriage to a degree and so to have this time granted to us, a time when we had nowhere else I could be at all, no other option but to just sit and be together, it was such an incredible gift. Some days we would just sit and talk and laugh together like we had when we first fell in love. If I weren't the size of a blimp with my stomach constantly shifting under my skin I would almost say that I would swear I was sixteen again just spending time with the man I adored.

The weeks continued on and my health just continued to get worse and worse as my blood pressure slowly crept higher and higher and we were quickly realizing that our little girl was most likely going to be brought into the world a little sooner than originally anticipated.

I wasn't helping matters. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't really relax. My mind was always working in the back of my consciousness, planning, wondering, thinking of every possibly permutation of events and creating mental contingency plans for each one. I couldn't let it go and it was threatening the life of me and my unborn child, but I just couldn't stop.

Two weeks before my scheduled C-section I was rushed to the hospital when I started gasping for air and feeling dizzy in the middle of the night. My face was flushed and my father began to panic when my blood pressure was extremely high. My OB/Gyn was called and I was admitted and after they managed to get my blood pressure down I was scheduled for a c-section delivery of our baby girl early the next morning.

Seth stayed in the hospital with me along with Edward and Bella while the rest of the family went back home with Gabe with plans to return first thing the next morning for the delivery. I tried and tried to sleep that night but I couldn't sleep a wink, opting instead to work more on my scrapbook of messages for the kids. I sat the entire night writing page after page of how I was feeling and how much I would always love them. It was super saccharine, making your teeth hurt because it was so sappy, but it really was how I felt.

The next morning came and I found myself on edge with concern. So far the pregnancy had been rougher, but the baby seemed to be in a better position for this delivery. She had no problems turning and thus was not in the breech position her brother had been at birth, making that part of the delivery less dangerous, and the doctors now knowing what they were going to encounter were also better prepared.

I was trembling as they walked me into the OR for the delivery and had me sit up on the table. The anesthesiologist was a very kindly older man who guaranteed me that this delivery would go far more smoothly than the last, as did the doctor. I was extremely scared as they administered the spinal block for the surgery and laid me on the table and I was almost immediately swept with a wave of nausea. The staff lifted the curtain as they prepared me for delivery before Seth was brought in to sit with me.

The actual baby removal part of the delivery was so much faster and easier than Gabe's, but I still had a hard time appreciating it because I kept getting hit with waves of nausea as my blood pressure would drop leaving me heaving into a tiny bowl as I lay on my back on the table while the anesthesiologist kept pushing doses of Zofran to help me combat the reactions.

Moments after she was removed I could hear our infant daughter's beautiful cries from across the room where they were cleaning her. I could barely see her little hands and feet between the staff members working to clean her as she cried. They wrapped her in a blanket and carried her over to hand her to Seth who sat down next to me and I stared at her in awe. She had a beautiful crinkled red face and her eyes were open and she was whining like she was telling me all about the experience she had just been through.

I smiled up at Seth who had tears in his eyes matching my own. "Well Mommy," he said from behind his mask, "what do you think? Do you think the name we picked out fits her?"

I reached a hand out to touch her tiny fingers and smiled. "Yes, she looks like a Faith to me. Faith Serenity Clearwater."

We hadn't actually told anyone yet what we had chosen to name the baby and while I had done a good job of redirecting Edward, he was quickly able to grab it from Seth's mind, but immediately promised to keep the secret while giving me an impish grin. We had chosen her name during one of our alone times while everyone was out while we cuddled on the couch in front of the fireplace. We decided on Faith because we wanted to believe and keep the faith that we would all come through this together as a family, and Serenity was chosen with multiple meanings.

First of all, we hoped that once the conflict was finished that we would finally be able to live a life of peace and serenity without the constant shadows that had been looming over us pretty much our entire lives, but we also chose the name in honor of Sarina who I hoped would be a good big cousin to Faith and help her navigate the world of our strange family life. The third reason, which I hadn't admitted to anyone, including Seth, was I hoped against hope that like River in the movie Serenity I would beat those odds, being surrounded by a force that appears to be impossible to defeat and managing to survive. In that baby girl's name held my most heartfelt hopes and prayers that the scrapbook and the planning and the preparation would be unnecessary because someway, somehow, I might survive to be the mother to her and Gabe that they deserved.

After a few minutes of staring at Faith while the surgeons worked to sew me back up, the nurses took her to go give her a bath and assess more completely. I hated being stuck on the operating table feeling nauseas and very much like a Christmas turkey being sewn closed after having its innards pulled out and replaced with stuffing. Finally the nausea subsided and the exhaustion of what I had just endured after a long sleepless night combined with the ability to actually breathe deeply for the first time in several months, I drifted off to sleep to the sounds of the machines beeping and the surgeons discussing a round of golf they had participated in last week.

I woke up in the recovery room feeling like someone actually had ripped out my insides after the anesthesia had worn off. The nurse gave me a shot of morphine, but I swear it didn't feel like it did any good at all. I was shaking uncontrollably, a side effect of the anesthesia, and wanted desperately to see my new baby and family. Seth came in a few minutes after I had awoken and brought our digital camera in to show me pictures he had taken of Faith being cleaned up and of our family staring in through the window smiling brightly at her. She was still being observed for the time being and would be brought down once I was settled in my room.

As I was rolled out of the recovery room and toward my hospital room my whole family greeted me and all stated how absolutely beautiful Faith was. Everyone was in agreement that while Gabe looked more like his father except with my eyes, Faith was the spitting image of me, only with a slightly darker skin tone. I smiled cringing every time I attempted to readjust myself in the bed. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been when I had Gabe, but there was no denying that I was most definitely in pain.

The nurse brought in Faith and immediately placed her in my arms. I looked down at my second miracle and my heart felt like it would explode with the love I felt for this tiny creature. It really was true…your heart doesn't have a set amount of love that it has to share between the ones you love and when a new child comes in it takes some of the love you have for the firstborn to give to your second. No, I loved Gabe every bit as much as before, but instead it was like my heart grew to hold the extra love that this angelic little girl created in me.

My family was complete and I was going to savor every second I had with them on this earth.

Shortly after Faith was brought in Mom came in with Gabe hanging from her neck like a little monkey. He saw me holding Faith and he smiled. Mom brought him carefully over reminding him that I was sore and he had to be careful and sat him next to me on the bed where he stared in wonder at Faith. I motioned for Seth to move her into Gabe's lap and help him hold her and the second she was in place I was blinded by several bright flashes. I looked up to see four cameras trained on our family and a giddy looking set of siblings and parents watching us.

My hospital stay was short, although Faith too had to undergo phototherapy for jaundice. Luckily with her they gave us what they called a billi blanket instead of the bed which allowed us to hold her and take care of her while she underwent her phototherapy treatments.

I recovered much more quickly after having Faith than I had with Gabe because the incisions weren't as invasive. I was released six weeks later to begin training again, and slowly began to work my way up to being back in the physical shape I needed to be in when the Volturi arrived. Having my family around was actually quite priceless because I had babysitters on hand 24/7 to allow me to play with my kids and train and prepare whenever I wanted and chose.

The next three months flew by in a blur of nighttime feedings, bedtime rituals, quality time spent with my children, my husband, and my family, and of course training. We had managed to figure out the best way to utilize the venom affected cells and I began to train first with less dangerous materials before transitioning to practicing with the new weapon. I had to be perfect and extremely careful. The cells that so easily cut into Edward's skin would instantly sever any part of my body even with the lightest of contact.

Thankfully after that first night of Gabe's nightmares, he didn't seem to have any more. I however started finding it harder and harder to sleep at night the closer we got to the conflict because the dreams that once plagued me occasionally or even once a night now haunted me the moment I would sink from consciousness. Ever since our family meeting things had remained the same with Gabe safely tucked on my family's side of the dividing line flanked on all sides by his aunts and uncles who were prepared to protect him at all cost. I didn't know much, but there was one thing I knew for sure, our potential apocalypse was approaching quickly and we had no time to spare. I knew that it all fell to me…I was the key that would ultimately decide if my family and friends lived or died and I was determined that I would succeed.

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Author's Note: The term Voltidouchbags was left in a review ages ago and I can't seem to find it now to know for sure, although I'm pretty certain it was left byEsmi76 (if I'm wrong let me know and I'll correct myself), at any rate, it left me laughing so hard and I asked if I could use it someday in the story and she said yes and I finally managed to fit it in! Thank you all for sharing in this journey with me. I started ITSOTD on November 12

_**th**__**…that's nearly eight months ago and all along I knew where we were headed, from the beginning I had these last few chapters fairly well mapped out in my head. It's been a long, fun journey and it makes me sad that we're at the end, but I want to thank you all for your patience and your faithful reading and reviewing!! You guys are the best!**_


	40. Deceit, Revelation, and Determination

**Disclaimer: All original Twilight Characters are property of Stephenie Meyer.**

**_Author's Note: Okay, so I was going to hold onto this until I got the next two chapters back from Mel, but I just can't. I'm going to be super nice to you though and wait to post the next two chapters together or else you guys are going to kill me for leaving you with the ultimate cliffy...so without further ado...things are about to get a bit dicey! _**

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40. Deceit, Revelation, and Determination

I was having a very strange day. I should have known right away that today would be a bad day when I woke up to a fussy teething Faith and a Gabe who was once again showing symptoms of strep throat. I wish I knew why he seemed to always get strep throat right after his immunizations.

I got my phone out right away and made a call into Dr. Gubin's office. They asked me to bring Gabe in at ten to be checked out, but explained that our assumption was probably correct since there were several cases that had been reported from the La Push area this week. I thought it was a strange coincidence and wondered if there wasn't something in Quileute DNA, causing them to react to the chicken pox vaccinations in such a way as to result in them to coming down with a case of strep since the same thing had happened to Gabe nearly a year ago when he had his first dose of the vaccination.

It was rare for the whole family to be gone from the house away and from Gabe. It had only happened twice in the year since we started taking the precautions to keep him safe, but it just happened to time out today that Dad had to go into the hospital and most of the others were in dire need of a hunting trip. Instead of the vamps, Jake had five pack members patrolling the woods along our property line and the state of the art security system that Edward had insisted we install was up and running.

I was still amazed we had made it a year. Around the time that I had the disturbing dream about Gabe being with me behind enemy lines the timeline had shifted forward and we feared that we wouldn't have time to prepare, but then something caused it to shift again and we had a reprieve and now I was two weeks away from getting to celebrate a milestone I thought I'd never get to see…Faith's first birthday.

I picked up my cell phone to place a few calls and was thankful that Dad would be able to get off work and meet us at the office and Emmett and Rose were nearby to come home and escort us to the office.

Mary seemed surprised to see us all arrive together and seemed uncomfortable as she escorted Dad and I to the room while Emmett and Rose watched Faith in the waiting room. We told her that Dad wanted to say hi to Dr. Gubin so that it didn't look so strange for us to have an escort. Our visit was short with the Doctor immediately diagnosing Gabe with strep and sending us on our way with a prescription for his antibiotics.

We separated ways as Emmett and Rose took Gabe and Faith back home for the afternoon while Dad escorted me to my training. At first the kids were going to be the only ones with escorts everywhere, but it didn't take long for my brothers to decide I needed one too. They were all nearly certain that their protective streak had been the change that led to our ever-valuable delay.

We made it to the training facilities in Port Angeles and Dad read his medical journals while I worked on my weapons training with Master Kai. Master Kai was a former Shaolin monk highly skilled in the art of whip weapons. I had been working for the better part of the last six months with him three hours a day three days a week and had become quite adept at the art and had transitioned to working at home using the actual venom whip we had created on the days I did not meet with Master Kai.

An hour into our lesson my father got an emergency call to the hospital and had to leave. He looked hesitant to leave me, but I assured him I would be fine and could drive home without having to worry. A half an hour after he left I got a phone call from Dr. Gubin's office from Mary asking if I could stop in and bring our new insurance card and sign some paperwork in order to process the bill since our yearly permission form had expired. I promised to stop on my way home from Port Angeles and finished up my session with Master Kai before getting the in car to go back to Forks and stop in the office before going home.

As soon as I sat in the seat I immediately reached in my purse to pull out the two leather cuffs upon which a large metal oval engraved with the Cullen crest shined from the middle of each. I changed my shoes quickly before I shook my wrists one last time to ensure that the wristbands were secure and placed in the optimal position on my wrists before starting the car and heading to Forks.

When I reached the doctor's office the parking lot was empty with the exception of one car and the lights were out. I walked up to the door and peered in to see Mary come to the door smiling.

"I'm sorry Mary, am I running late? Am I keeping you from going home?"

She smiled sweetly, "Oh no my sweet, I had to stay behind to clean the equipment. I was listening for your car. No Gabe and Faith today?"

I smiled back. "No, this was a gym day in Port Angeles for me, so they're back at the house with Emmett and Rose. It's really handy having so many sitters around to keep an eye on them for me."

Her smile tightened a moment and I wondered what she had against Emmett and Rose. The tightness quickly faded though before her smile softened and she gestured toward the doors to the back of the offices.

"Please, do follow me. I just have to take you into the office to copy your card and have you sign the papers and then you can be on your way back to those precious pups of yours."

I followed her feeling a little funny about her choice of terminology. I stepped through the door of the darkened hallway and followed her around a corner where suddenly I felt a pair of hard cold arms wrap around my shoulders and a cloth cover my nose and mouth. I fought and struggled, but was helpless against the strength of the vampire who had me in his grasp. The world blurred as I saw Mary turn with a wicked smile holding a syringe and tapping it lightly.

"Don't worry Angelina; this will only sting a second. Can't have you waking up and warning anyone before you meet Lord Aro."

My eyes widened in horror. Mary? Mary worked for Aro? She'd been a trusted part of our community for the past five years. She had taken care of Gabe since he was a….baby. She started when Gabe was born. She was why Gabe was in danger in the dream. She somehow figured out that he was a pack baby…but how?

I felt myself going under as I fought with all of my strength, but it was no use. The world went dark as I screamed in my mind hoping somehow, some way Edward was nearby and would hear me.

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I opened my eyes to a darkened room confused for a moment as to where I was. I blinked and reached up to rub my eyes when the memory flashed before me in an instant. The Doctor's office, Mary, vampire, Lord Aro, syringe, oh God! This was it! I felt a wave of nausea hit as I realized I was so close to seeing Faith turn one. So close…yet so far away.

The bile rose in my throat and I jumped up running for the slight sliver of light that shone into the darkness from the far wall. I reached the sliver and felt a wooden door ahead of me. My hands groped to find a handle and I opened it to find a brightly lit white hallway. I ran down the hallway feeling dizzy as the hallway seemed to slope from left to right to left. The hallway was completely empty and silent, the only sounds were the echoes of my footsteps as I reached the door at the end of the hall and burst through it hoping to make an escape.

The door opened and I gasped as I ran headlong into a wide wooden railing. The wind knocked out of me a moment before the bile escaped my esophagus and I bent over the side of the railing, the content of my stomach escaping to the waves of the ocean below as it rocked the vessel from side to side.

When the deluge stopped I stood back straight wiping my mouth with the back of my arm as I looked from side to side to see two large olive skinned vampires smirking at me.

"So you are Bella's sister. You look nothing alike you know." Felix mused leaning in nose to nose with me.

I nodded and stepped back a bit as I struggled to will the tears away kicking myself for my own stupidity. How could I have been so stupid?! Did my family know yet that I was missing? How long was I out?

"You don't LOOK as frail as she did as a human, but at least she never vomited in our presence or cried like a little baby." Felix smirked.

Behind me Demitri moved in closer and clasped his hand on my bicep like an icy iron manacle. "Lord Aro has been quite eager to make your acquaintance for some time Angelina. Unfortunately your family made that more difficult than it should have been. Let's not keep him waiting any longer than you already have."

He led me roughly across the deck of the lavish vessel as I looked around for signs of land or landmarks to help me discern where we were, but it was useless with no land in sight. He turned and led me through a large wooden set of double doors into a massive ballroom where Aro, Caius, and Marcus sat on throne like chairs, their wives seated nearby in smaller chairs and an assortment of guard members dressed in Gray or Black standing nearby.

I immediately recognized Jane, Alec, Chelsea, and Renata, but there was one face I did not recognize. A beautiful young woman with tanned skin, dark eyes, and straight black hair stood glaring at me from her place next to Alec with whom she was holding hands.

Aro stood and made his way toward me with a wide in genuine smile. "Ah, Angelina, it's so good of you to finally join us. We've wanted to meet you for quite some time. I'm actually amazed at how long the Cullens managed to keep you under our radar and then once we were aware of you and your little family, it made it rather difficult to get some time with you, between the shape shifters always nearby and the Cullens keeping such a watchful eye on you"

I found myself looking away from him to glance curiously at the young lady again and he smiled knowingly. "I see you are unfamiliar with our newest guard member. Meet Suihail. I believe your family if familiar with her brother Nahuel. We had the pleasure of meeting his acquaintance the last time we encountered your family. Suihail decided that her allegiances were better served on the side of justice not anarchy."

I hadn't had the time to put it all together until now. The thought had crossed fleetingly through my mind that I was surprised Alice hadn't seen my abduction and my current location in a vision and headed us off, but this would explain how she had missed it. Half breeds not personally known to her always threw off her visions. The Volturi had learned the weaknesses of our family and exploited them expertly.

Just as Aro was turning back to me I heard the doors open behind me and Aro beamed at the new individual to join our discussion. "Ah, Marietta! You have pleased me so, my dear." Mary walked past me giving me a pointed look before walking into Aro's open and waiting arms. "You have accomplished what many of our best guard members could not. As soon as we return to Italy we will hold the ceremony and you will join our ranks. We will hold a festival in the great hall in honor for the defeat of the Cullens and your heroic bravery and devotion and I will personally institute your change."

She beamed from his arms and I felt sick as I watched her bask in the sick bastard's praise. "Oh thank you Lord Aro. That is such an honor. I would do anything for you my master."

Aro patted her head like a dog before gesturing her to join the others before turning to me. "Now Miss Angelina, I think it's time for the two of us to become better acquainted."

The world moved in slow motion as his hand made its way toward me. I tried to focus on my shield going over my carefully crafted story that included all the important information and yet shielded the most vital information from his mind. His icy hand touched my arm and I felt a strange draining sensation as he held my arm in his grip with his eyes closed and his head tilted slightly up. I prayed my shield was working and that my strength would hold out as he continued to probe my memories and thoughts. After a long moment he let go with a sigh.

He stood a foot away and stared at me probingly before turning and returning to his throne. "It seems we may have wasted our time with this one. She only had rudimentary knowledge of the family's secrets and no abilities manifesting in her human form as her sister had. It seems that they didn't trust her as much as we had anticipated and she will not serve any further use than simply bait. Take her back to the cell and contact the family and inform them that we have her and the time and location of our next meeting."

I feigned hurt at the thought that my family had lied to me while mentally jumping for joy that my shield appeared to have worked. The events were set in motion and now I had to wait for the chess board to be set up in the field, myself being the pawn tucked precariously within the enemy's ranks.

~*~*~*~*

A small light on top of the desk was the was the only thing illuminating the plain windowless stateroom. There was a small bathroom for my use, a bed, a desk and that was all. The door was locked to keep me safely stored until the Volturi were to use me as bait.

I had no way of knowing how much time had passed, but I was brought five meals since I was dismissed from Aro's presence.

I heard the door knob rattle moments before it slowly opened and Mary came walking in carrying a tray of food with a look of disdain on her face. I couldn't keep my mouth shut…my curiosity got the better of me as she turned to leave.

"Why?"

She turned with an evil smile. "Why? To rid the earth of your anarchist family and of the scourge that is the werewolf tribe. Why else?"

I scoffed. "My family aren't anarchists. They haven't been scouring the countryside trying to raise a revolt. That's your boss's M.O."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't know anything about the blessed Volturi. They are gods among gods. They stand for justice and order. They are the ultimate."

This time I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "Sounds like Chelsea really did a number on you sweetheart. Nobody is that loyal to murderous manipulative scumbags like your boss without being forced."

She shook her head. "You know not what you speak. Lord Aro would never force anyone's allegiance."

I scoffed again. "Oh dear…you are the one that doesn't know what she's talking about, but you'll find out soon enough when Aro changes his mind and drains you as a victory toast once you return to Volterra."

"There is no use in talking to you. You are brainwashed by the anarchists." She turned to walk out as I mumbled, "Sure, sure, whatever you say," before speaking up before she could leave.

"Wait, I need to know something first. You called my kids pups. How did you know that they were pack kids?"

She laughed wickedly tossing back her hair, "Oh you are so simple minded. It was easy when you have the Volturi behind you. I've been taking samples of all of the La Push children's blood for years and sending them to Italy. The Volturi used the blood to identify the children with the werewolf mutation and then began creating a virus that would only affect them. We've tried several strains throughout the years, but this last one has been the only one that seems to have made all of the werewolf pups ill. Once we had that and were able to pick out all of the next generation we were ready to proceed. We just wanted to get you and your son for more intensive investigation to hopefully find something that would do more than simply make them ill, but would rather kill them for good without the need for bites and venom."

Fueled by my rage, I jumped up from the bed grabbing her by the neck in an instant. Marietta looked surprised by my burst of speed and strength which seemed to have become exponentially heightened in my anger. "You bitch! You're never going to get the chance to be turned or have the honor of having Lord Aro suck you dry because I'm going to break your neck!"

As soon as I said the words I regretted them wishing I had just done it instead of talking about it first because I was instantly pulled away by Demitri who smiled at me before throwing me back onto the bed.

"Felix misjudged you a bit I think. You have fire in you. Perhaps Lord Aro could have some use for you after all, but your little outburst will unfortunately cost you your breakfast."

With that he picked up the tray and carried it through the door locking it behind him. I stood up and screamed as I picked up the lamp and threw it across the room with a thunderous crash leaving me in darkness wave the tiny sliver of light shining from around the door jam. I didn't care. I folded myself up onto the mattress and began to meditate and focus my energy for the fight ahead while constantly praying for the strength to complete the task at hand. I had a group of vampires to kill soon and I needed to be ready.


	41. It All Comes Down To This

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer's incredible mind created this world of Vampires…and now I'm going to obliterate a section of it…care to watch? (hee,hee)**

_**Author's Note: I'm giving you fair warning now. My wonderful, busy beta Mel has not gotten the epilogue back to me yet, but I do have this chapter and the next. I refused to not post these two together because, while the next chapter is a cliffy, it would have been worse if I'd only posted this one. She plans to get it back to me tonight, and since she's in Australia means that it probably will arrive in my inbox sometime in the wee hours of the morning, so if all goes according to plan it should post first thing tomorrow morning. So if you don't want to be left in another cliffy, then you might want to save these for after I post the epilogue.**_

_**(Taking a deep breath with a sad sigh) This is it…I've had this in my head since this story first came to mind over eight months ago. I so hope you like it. Also I drew heavy inspiration for this fight from the last River fight scene from Serenity, which I've posted a youtube link on my profile page to it if you'd like to see…particularly her awesome weapon work. If you haven't seen Serenity I totally encourage you to. True I am a Scifi geek, and so that may be biasing my opinion, but it's seriously one of my all time favorites!**_

_**Thanks for reading. **_

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41. It All Comes Down To This

I sat in the dark on the bed and lost myself in my meditations as I thought of my children, my husband, my family, and my friends. I focused on my love for them and drew from that; love the strength and courage to do what I had to do.

The Volturi were so cocky, they never thought I was a threat so they never bothered to rid me of my weaponry. I reached my hands up in the darkness and fingered the leather cuffs on my wrists immediately finding the trigger switches that opened the silver ovals and allowed the curled up venom whip to slip out with a metal handle for me to grab for quick and easy access.

I reached my hands down to my shoes and smiled grateful for having taken the time to change them before I left the dojo as well feeling the hidden torches that simply needed to be triggered by me flicking my foot in a particular direction to release the safety and then stomping with just the right amount of pressure to send a one foot stream of fire to the side of my shoe.

I took a deep breath and focused my thoughts on the faces of my loved ones and felt a single tear travel down my cheek before sighing and letting the love I had for them fill my heart and steel my nerves. I was ready.

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The door opened flooding the room in a bar of bright light from the doorway. I remained curled up in my lotus position unwilling to move simply because they demanded it. After a few moments I finished my quick prayer and stood to walk calmly through the doorway and onto the deck.

The ship had moored on the rocky edges of First Beach and the guard began to gracefully jump and descend to land on the shore leaving footprints in the rocky surface. Felix and Demitri flanked me on either side. Demitri reached over and grasped my shoulders before jumping over the side carrying me with him like a rag doll and settling me gently on the ground next to him before he and Felix each took an arm and began running at top speed along with the rest of the guard. Even in a full speed run, they were in tight regimented ranks.

I didn't have to wonder where everyone was because I knew, the stand was already waiting for us at the large meadow that stretched behind the reservation school. We broke through the stand of trees and crested over the hill and I could suddenly see my family and friends lined up in waiting, the distress and worry etched in each and every face was highly visible as we quickly reached our destination and I was set to stand in the middle of the guard elite.

I locked eyes with Seth and sighed in relief to see that just as in my dream he had Gabe and Faith and was surrounded by my siblings. Jake, Nessie and Sarina were also standing next to them. Edward and Bella were front and center with my parents. The Denali coven were also in the line along with the Amazons and Siobahn's coven and I realized that I must have been gone much longer than I had realized for everyone from so far away to have arrived. The pack kids, and their families all stood behind the line of vampires with the pack phased and creating a protective final barrier between their loved ones and the red eye army.

I locked eyes with Edward. _I am so sorry to have been so stupid. At least we were lucky; Aro didn't see anything I didn't want him to._

_**Don't blame yourself; they've been planning this for years.**_

_I know, a nurse from Dr. Gubin's office has been sending them samples of pack kids' blood. Gabe's illnesses have been part of a virus they have been developing trying to kill them off once and for all. Oh and Alice couldn't see anything because they have one of Nahuel's sisters helping them._

_**Oh God. So…what are you going to do?**_

_You know what I have to do. Tell them all that I'm sorry and I love them. He began speaking for me. Tell Seth that I need him to take care of our babies and I will love him forever. I love you all and I am so, so sorry._

I heard the smug vampires surrounding me chuckle as their hearing picked up the words of love and I asked Edward to share with my family. I was right in the center of the key players. Felix and Demitri were to my sides, Chelsea was right behind me. Aro, Caius, and Marcus were in front with Renata right behind him and Jane on their right, with Alec, and Suilhail on their left.

Aro began to banter and make accusations against my family as I tuned him out and locked eyes with my husband. I mouthed 'I love you' and he mouthed back 'I love you too.' Gabe and Faith were in his arms, both crying as Gabe reached toward me in hysterics because he knew exactly what was to come, he had seen it himself in his dreams over a year ago and he hadn't forgotten.

I looked at the beautiful faces of my children and I broke down in sobs as they racked my body. I could hear the cocky vampires around me scoff and snort in response to my display of emotion and could hear their condescension in Edward's perceptions of their thoughts and it flipped a switch in me as I no longer saw them as individuals or foes stronger than me and able to destroy me with a flip of their fingers. I saw them as soulless, heartless, cocky shells of metal unsuspecting of what they had in their presence and of the mama bear they just released from her cage. I began to slip into a bit of madness as my sobs morphed into a dark chuckle and I saw the two warriors to my sides look at me from the corner of their eyes and then roll them ignoring me and my weakness. I could hear in Edward's thoughts that they didn't suspect me to be any type of threat. My laughter grew louder as I threw my head back and could hear Edward in my head worried about what was wrong with me and if I really had lost my mind.

I locked eyes with him with a dark smile as two more tears escaped my eyes.

_I love you. Keep them safe._

I closed my eyes, took a deep shuddering breath and reached my thumbs up to flip the triggers releasing the two venom whips into my hands as I quickly grabbed the metal handles that I could actually touch and flipped my wrists one behind me and one in front of me. With the screeching sound of metal being rendered in two Chelsea separated into two perfect halves and fell to the floor, Jane suffering the same fate in front of me as I brought the rear whip around the right side of my body to decapitate Felix. The whip continued around as the front whip ripped through Marcus's side.

The ranks of the guard around us began to fall out of line into a confused jumble of voices and cries as Chelsea's grip on their allegiances began to falter, the guard elite around me were just beginning to realize something was wrong. I bent my back in a very Riveresque move and brought my hands together in a arc around my body in order to slice the whips through Demitri and a few other guard standing nearby before flicking my wrists and bringing them forward. By this point Alec had turned and began to work his power in my direction as Aro and Caius were making their way toward me to stop my attack.

I stepped sideways to release the safety switch on the torches in my shoes just as my whip wrapped around Alec's head removing it from his body instantly while the other came down at and angle severing Caius's upper body from his lower. I lifted my feet and stomped simultaneously sending a foot long strip of fire out the side of both of my feet, instantly igniting the flowing venom all around me with the power of a thousand gallons of jet fuel instantly making my skin burn and blister from the sheer proximity.

Aro had nearly reached me as I pushed the button to recoil my whips crossing my wrists in front of him to make them shred him as the coiled back toward my body to recess back into their protective oval casings.

Fueled by my anger and love for my family, my entire attack took only seconds and caught the cocky unsuspecting guard elite completely by surprise giving me the upper hand I needed. I could hear the screaming all around me as my body began to feel as though it was boiling due to the proximity to the unbearable heat and I prayed that I would die soon before suffering any more pain. I gasped twice, the world darkening around me a second before I felt something heavy hit me, which sent me hurtling through the fire to the ground beyond. I never saw what it was through the blur of my pain and my eyes fluttered shut for the last time. I knew my loved ones would be safe. I, an inconspicuous human girl, had managed to take out the Volturi guard Elite, broken the forced allegiance of the rest of the massive army with the destruction of Chelsea, and left my family with a far less deadly foe than had approached them only moments before. Between my family, their friends, and the pack, I knew they would be able to defeat the confused group that faced them and live on. I had accomplished my goal, my family was safe, and now I could rest knowing I did what I needed to do. My world grew dark as I let the pain pull me under and I let go.

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Author's note: So what are you sitting here reading this silly author's note? The next chapter is already up waiting for you! Go! Go! Go! (but if you want to take a second to review first that would be nice)


	42. The Ultimate Choice

**Disclaimer: You all know where the credit for the Twilight World belongs…but I'm proud to take full credit for Lina. Granted I made her a bit of a super girl in the end…but hey... It's my imagination and I can do what I want to!!!**

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42. The Ultimate Choice

I woke up screaming, writhing in pain from the burning sensation that seemed to envelop my entire body. Everywhere hurt, no space on the surface of my body seemed untouched. At first I thought that during the fight I had been bitten and that I was undergoing the change, but this didn't feel right. This wasn't a fire pouring through my veins and hot in the core of my chest, this was more like a sheet of fire covering my entire body. Everywhere that something touched my skin, the bed sheets under me, the thin piece of fabric covering the top of me, the tubes in my arms, the sweet hand attempting to comfort me through my pain, they all felt like stinging aching torture.

I could hear voices, but I was in so much pain that I couldn't make out what they were saying. Some were velvety and spoke with a speed that I knew was my vampire family, others were more deep and gravelly and I recognized them as my pack friends, and then there was the pained and desperate voice of my Seth, calling me, begging me to open my eyes.

I could hear my father's voice, "Seth, Seth, look at me. We have to make a choice. The chances of her surviving these injuries are very, very low, we can wait and see, but if we do, we could lose her. This is probably our only chance. We can institute the change and she will most likely survive, but we have to do it soon or else she will be too weak to withstand the process."

"Yes! Yes! Do it Carlisle! I can't live without her, I just can't!" Seth's shaking voice demanded through his sobs.

I screamed, a piercing, ear deafening shriek, trying to force my agonizing lips to yell out "NO". I couldn't, my body would not cooperate. _EDWARD! _I screamed in my thoughts. _EDWARD, HELP ME…TELL THEM NO!_

"I'm here Lina," I heard Edward's velvety voice whisper with urgency by my bedside. "Are you sure? This will save you, you can stay with Seth, and there is an enormous chance you may die if we don't do it."

_NO EDWARD, THE BLOODLUST, THE…MY BABIES, I WON'T BE ABLE TO BE WITH THEM OR BE AWAY FROM SETH AND I COULDN'T TAKE SETH FROM THEM, THEY NEED HIM. THEY CAN'T LOSE BOTH OF THEIR PARENTS AT THE SAME TIME. IF I CAN'T HAVE SETH AND MY BABIES THEN I DON'T WANT TO LIVE._

I could hear Edward explain my wishes to the watching crowd. I heard the quiet tearless sobs of my family, the sniffling tears of my pack friends and they all pained me, but my heart tore in two at the wails of my Seth, "Lina, please, PLEASE! I can't do this without you! We'll make it work, I promise we will and I have never broken a promise to you. Don't leave me! Please Angel, please don't leave me!"

Edward spoke my words as I thought them, being my almost immediate voice. _I will love you forever Seth. There's a chance I might live through this, I might survive this as a human. Then we can be together. Then we can stay a family. I'm strong enough to do this. I CAN do this! I'm not giving up without a fight. I've done one impossible thing today and I have every intention of doing another. _

"But the risk Lina…I'm afraid. I don't want to lose you forever." Seth replied, his voice barely audible through his sobs. I could tell he understood.

"But Lina, even if you do survive…the scars…you're not going to be the same. You could be beautiful forever and Seth can stay with you. Don't you want that?" Rosalie pleaded with me from the corner of the room, begging me to allow them to change me.

I was suddenly annoyed; a growling rumble came from my chest. I didn't care how I would look. My looks were the last thing on my mind. I could hear Edward's voice with a sharp edge begin to relay my thoughts when I heard Seth's voice loud and hard screaming from the direction of the room that I had heard Rosalie's voice.

"How dare you! She will ALWAYS be beautiful! No matter what happens." I was shocked, Seth was screaming, and I assumed from the direction his voice as coming from it was in Rosalie's face.

"I…I didn't mean." Rosalie's sad voice tried to defend and then stopped and whispered. "I know that. I'm sorry. You're right."

Suddenly I heard Seth's voice soothing in my ear, the only sound in the world that could take some of the sting away from my cringing nerves. "Don't listen to her Angel, Do you remember that day on the beach when we went to California for your seventeenth birthday? Do you remember what you asked me? You asked me if I would still love you if you were old and saggy, or if you were horribly disfigured, or if someday the Volturi came and forced you to become a vampire. Do you remember that? Do you remember my answer? I will love you forever and I don't care about any of those things. I just want you with me for as long as I can have you. Whatever you decide, I'll love you…no matter what. You are my sun that chases all of the shadows away, as long as I have you, I'll be happy. I want you forever, but I'll take whatever I can get." I could feel a tear roll down my cheek, stinging and burning, as it made strange twists and turns over the damaged skin of my face on its path to my ear. He leaned forward and put a gentle butterfly light kiss on my forehead. The spot on my skin where he placed the kiss ached and stung, but it made everywhere else inside my body feel warm and beautiful and loved.

Then a thought hit me. I was laying here with all of my loved ones around me. They survived. _I survived! _How did I survive?

This time I heard Edward's voice sad but so proud and full of awe, "You were amazing Lina. You did what nobody else mortal or immortal could ever do. They're gone Lina, forever. You paid a high price, but it doesn't have be the ultimate price you believed you would pay. Seth couldn't stand back and watch you die. The second you started your attack he began to shake. We grabbed the kids out of his arms just before he phased. He jumped into the middle of the fight, taking out a couple of the guard as he went and pulled you out just after you ignited the fire. He saved you."

Deep down I had known it was Seth that had pulled me out of the inferno. He had always been the one to save me. He saved me from myself more times than I could count. He was my other half, my sun and my moon, my day and my night, he was the sun that chased all of _my_ shadows away, he and my babies were my everything. I was conflicted, I wanted forever with him, but I was afraid of the bloodlust, afraid that I would never hold my babies again, but if I died I would definitely never hold my babies again.

"Just keep in mind Lina, you are very much Bella's sister. You've lived almost your entire life with an understanding of what our life entails, of the drives and the thirst, the sacrifice and the benefits. If there's a single person in this world that could hold a candle to the amazing restraint Bella held as a newborn, I believe it would be you." Edward whispered in my ear.

"We love you Lina." I heard Bella whisper beside him. I hadn't heard her before, but I should have known that they would be standing together; probably holding hands in an attempt to comfort one another. "No matter what, we will be here for you. We will help you deal with things no matter what you choose."

I was so conflicted. If I only had a way of knowing…I didn't want to die and abandon everyone I love, but I also didn't want to become a monster, who couldn't live with my children and husband. I could stay with them, but in what way? How could my life with my husband and children and a life as a vampire ever work? Could I stand to never have a day on the beach in California with the breeze blowing through my hair? Could I stand the fire that would burn in my throat every time I was near my children? Would I ever be able to hug them and kiss them and not want to kill them? My family claimed that they had been that way with me. I knew it was possible, but they had nearly a century of experience before I came into their lives. Could I as a newborn handle that and control it and learn not to feel it anymore? If only I could see…_Alice?_

Edward must have looked at her because I could suddenly sense her tiny fairy like body near the head of the bed. "Can you see anything?" Edward asked.

"It's blurry. It keeps changing. She can't make up her mind, and the pack is blocking parts of my view. If they leave maybe I can see more clearly."

I could hear the shuffle of feet. "Not you Seth, I've learned long ago to see around you." She whispered in her tinkling voice. "I can see better now…both choices," she suddenly gasped. "But only one will allow you to stay here with us…and you know which one that is."

Seth's sobs tore at my chest again. _The kids, Edward, ask about the kids._

"Alice, she wants to know about the kids."

I struggled to try to use my ability to see through Edward what Alice was seeing, but I was too weak and the pain was too distracting. I couldn't focus and couldn't pull anything from Edward's mind at all.

"I can't see them…no wait. I see you and Seth, holding hands sitting on a porch. You are still the age you are now and you are surrounded by children. Human children, and their parents." I heard her gasp quietly, "Lina, you're going to be a grandma…and you're going to get to see them," I could hear a smile in her voice "…and hold them! You're holding them on your lap singing to them and they're hugging you around your neck. I can't see Gabe and Faith's immediate future with you, but I can see that."

"We can do this sweetheart. I promise you, we can do this. Let them change you. Stay with me forever."

My heart ached as I debated my options. I knew for a fact now that if I didn't let the change happen I would die, but if I did and Alice was wrong about my children it would be a fate worse than death. I also knew that if that did happen and I wanted my life to be over there was no way any of them would help me pull it off and they would block me at every attempt I would possibly make to use the venom chain against myself as well. The decision was difficult, but in the end I really knew there was only one choice.

I heard Edward sigh and then turn to talk to the others as I fought with all the strength left in my body to lift my hand, my skin stinging and screaming with every micrometer of movement. I reached out blindly to seek out Seth's face my fingers crying out with pain as they made contact with his skin. With what little strength I had left I tried to send out one last ripple of love for him before I once again lost consciousness with my decision made and my fate permanently sealed.

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Author's Note: Oh please, Like I could really kill off Lina just like that without her at least having a choice on the whole vampire thing! So many of you were mad at me the last few chapters thinking I was just going to kill her off and I wanted to scream…no wait…there's more! LOL (so did I totally make this no longer a cliffy? Oopsie!)

_**I can't believe that tomorrow I will post the end. It makes me so sad, like I'm saying goodbye forever to a dear friend. Thank you all so much for your support, reviews, alerts, favorites, and dedication to sticking with me on this until the end. Some of you have been here since the beginning and others have only recently gotten involved with Seth and Lina, but I thank each and every one of you for taking a little time out of your lives to share them with me. Thanks to you all, as of this morning Chasing Shadows is only four reviews shy of 500. That's so amazing to me! Thank you all so much! I'm positive that by the end of today we will have gotten way past that number. You are all so special to me and I want to say thank you to each one of you!!! **_

_**I've always had an overactive imagination and it was surprising how fulfilling it was to be able to utilize it and focus my energy in such a great way and make a few friends along the way…and I do consider many of you my friends. Thank you to Unofficial Cullen, aka Ness, for encouraging me on Twilight Moms to get on here and begin posting my story. She was my first reviewer. My beta MelissaAnne00 joined the fold shortly after and we quickly became friends and before I knew it I was asking her to help me out. She's been a great help and a constant source of support. I could go on for days with all of the people who I have met here, but since my kids are waking up now and you all have lives to lead and have probably already stopped reading this, I better stop rambling and get back to my real life. But I do want to say, one more time before the epilogue, THANK YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH!!! (wiping a tear from the corner of my eye)**_


	43. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: If you are reading this I assume you know who all of the credit for the original Twilight universe belongs…which is definitely not me.**

_**Author's Note: My final chapter and my final A/N for my Seth and Lina fic…how sad : ( You guys need to give a round of applause to my beta Mel who got this back to me early (I assume she worked on it during her work day…shhh don't tell her boss!) so now I get to give you the epilogue a whole twelve hours sooner. This one is a little different from the previous chapters. It is written in third person POV and takes place approximately 110 years after the last chapter. So I guess now we get to all say goodbye to Seth and Lina…**_

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Epilogue

"….And that is the story of Angelina Cecelia Cullen Clearwater, and her son Gabriel, who I am proud to call my ancestors." Steven Clearwater, current pack alpha and tribe elder, continued with his story in front of the crowd gathered at the bonfire on the cliffs overlooking First Beach as a group of visitors made their way toward the gathering staying in the shadows. A dozen heads all snapped up gazing in the direction of the coming visitors as their senses warned them that potential enemies were near. They instinctively sniffed the air a bit and then relaxed and resumed their evening when the scents they discovered on the air were familiar and friendly. The visitors stopped at the edge of the forest and listened as Steven continued with a smile.

"Lina Clearwater sacrificed her life that day over a hundred years ago. She risked her life and paid a heavy price in order to save not only the children of the pack members being harmed by the evil red eye army, but the rest of the tribe as well. It was with her sacrifice that we sit here today alive and well and safe from the red eye threat with a strong and unwavering alliance with our yellow eye family. Jacob Black and Renesmee Cullen created the first binding links between the yellow eye family and our own, but Lina Clearwater and her son Gabe turned that link into a strong metal cable that will forever tie our lives and fates. And tonight, for the first time in nearly ninety years, the yellow eyes have returned to our lands to once again permanently live in our presence in peace."

Steven motioned toward the visitors standing on the perimeters of the clearing inviting them to step forward and join the group. From the stand of trees twelve individuals stepped forth into the light of the campfire's glow inciting gasps from the tribal council and bonfire guests. There in the clearing stood nine unearthly beautiful pale creatures with glowing ochre eyes, one pale female with curly bronze hair and brown eyes, and two tall strong Quileute males.

One of the Quileute males held hands with the woman with the brown eyes, but most eyes of the bonfire guests were cast with unabashed amazement at the Quileute man holding hands with a beautiful yellow eyed woman with long mahogany hair, a bright adoring smile, and warm loving eyes. They had all heard stories their entire life and again just a few moments before of the wolf whose wife had been changed into a vampire to save her life after defeating the Red Eye army as a human, but to see it for themselves was too much for their minds to fully comprehend. All, except for Steven and a few of the other descendents of both Seth and Lina Clearwater and Jacob and Nessie Black, continued to stare in shock as the visitors made their way toward Steven all reaching out to shake his hand except for Lina and Seth who pulled him into affectionate hugs.

After Alice's vision the decision had been made, much to Seth's relief, to begin the process. Edward, Carlisle, and Bella all worked together to spread their venom into Lina's system to begin the change and hopefully beat out death in a race for time. Seth stayed by her side the entire time, encouraging her and telling her that he loved her and he wanted her to stay with him forever. He begged and prayed and pleaded with God and Lina to not take her away from him.

Three days later she awoke from her transformation fully healed from her burns with eyes of bright red. The fire of thirst burned in her throat, but she found immediately, to her great relief, that she did not find her husband's blood at all appealing in any edible way and was not repulsed by the odor as her family had warned. The call for human blood was unbearably strong, but that call thankfully excluded the love of her life. Her control rivaled Bella's as she quickly learned to manage her thirst for human blood and live off the blood of animals. She had done so well that after a week of her begging to see her children and be part of Faith's first birthday celebration, the family very cautiously allowed them to be in the same room and to everyone's great relief, the same truth applied to them as it did Seth. She did not thirst for their blood at all. She was so relieved when she found that she would still be able to hold and care for her babies. She was different now, but the love for them that she carried in her heart had burned even brighter throughout her transformation. She had not believed it was possible to love them even more and yet she did.

In the years that followed, Seth continued to retain his reacquired wolf form in order to stay with Lina. They stayed in the La Push area and raised their children together with the help of Lina's family until the children were old enough to be on their own and then went on to watch over them as they became adults and had families of their own from a slightly greater distance. They indeed did get to sit on the porch of the family homestead and watch their grandchildren play in the yard as their children watched on lovingly. Each generation were quickly taught the difference between the vampires to be feared and those to be trusted and the grandchildren quickly bonded with Seth and Lina and thought nothing of climbing into their laps and listening for hours as Lina would tell them stories of their ancestors and sing songs as they drifted off to sleep in her arms. Lina was in heaven.

Not everything was perfect though, as always life can never go without its trials. With the decimation of the Volturi, the vampire world began to fall into chaos. Without Chelsea to hold allegiances together, what was left of the defeated guard disbanded and disappeared into the far reaches of the world. As word spread that the ruling force who had kept the peace and secrecy of the vampire community under constant watch was no more, the southern clans once again began to rise and grow, inciting mayhem as did a few other rebellious entities in the world.

The Cullen family had no desire to become the new heads of state for the vampire community, but at the same time they couldn't just sit back and watch everything fall apart. As a result they once again set to work bringing together allies who in turn brought with them their own allies who began what could loosely be referred to as a vampire neighborhood watch program. The groups would all work together and then band together to stop anyone who was causing trouble.

At first many seemed to think it a useless attempt. They believed that there was no way that small bands of vampires working as quasi peacekeeping militia would ever be capable of upholding the peace as the threat of the ever present and deadly Volturi guard had done, but after the first few years they were proven wrong. The working together of individuals toward the common goal of peace for their people worked far better than an army ever could. It took about a decade, but eventually the vampire world was once again a pretty calm place to be a part of.

Many in the vampire world had become intrigued by the strange behaviors of the Cullen family from their drinking habits to their ability to mate with a species that truly was designed to be their mortal enemy. It puzzled them at how such a large group of vampires would live together perpetually and not destroy one another. It was enough of a puzzlement that it resulted in many other vampires attempting the 'vegetarian' lifestyle and while not all stuck with it, many decided that they liked the new lifestyle and the ways it made them capable of living more stabile lives in a single location for extended periods of time.

Even though he never assumed the role officially and never set himself up to be the royalty of the vampire kingdom, Carlisle had basically became as much anyway. His name was legend amongst the vampires of the world as was the rest of the family. The Romanians at one point had planned to use the destruction of the Volturi to attempt to resume power, but once they saw the loyalty he inspired amongst the greater vampire population, they thought better of it and returned to their lair in Romania, still smugly pleased that the Volturi finally met the end that they deserved.

As a human, Lina had been quite amazing in her own respect and a force to be reckoned with, but as a vampire she was even more so. Once she was changed and venom replaced the blood in her veins her powers became much more precise. Instead of gleaning pieces of the powers of her loved ones she was able to either directly replicate their abilities or meld them as she instinctually had as a human. Her powers were still very much linked to her emotions though still limiting her to only being able to share powers with those she loved.

There had been many other negatives of living forever, as your children grow older and live out their human lives. Seth and Lina, along with Jacob and Nessie both perpetually mourned the loss of their loved ones, beginning with their children and then their grandchildren. There was joy at watching each new generation be born and grow, but the pain of losing their progeny was equally as difficult.

Gabe grew into a big strong man with an amazing heart. The sacrifice of his mother and his links to the Cullen family gave him an even more unique outlook on the relationship between the pack and the vampires. He experienced his growth spurt once he entered puberty and began to phase into a graceful and powerful wolf with an amazing control of his phasing even early on. He had also had a bit of his mother's ability, but nowhere near as strongly as Lina had. Occasionally he would dream of events of the future, but never with the clarity of Lina.

Sarina had no desire to be Alpha, so once Gabe was trained and graduated high school Jacob passed on the role of Alpha to Gabe effectively retiring and moving away with the rest of the Cullens. Gabe imprinted soon after on a girl from Seattle and married in the presence of his parents and extended vampire and pack family. He became a respected alpha serving many years before retiring and taking over as tribal chief. His two eldest sons later grew to be strong pack members.

Faith had from the beginning been a normal baby maturing as all babies do. She grew into a beautiful young lady with long silky raven hair, and a smile and sparkling green eyes that were an exact replica of Lina's. Levi and Becky Uley gave birth to a baby boy six months after Faith had been born that they named Gavin. Levi and Becky had always held a special place in Lina's heart and vice versa, so when she was changed in service of protecting them and their people, Levi and Becky were the first to approach her once she was changed and offered to help with Faith in any way needed. As a result, Gavin and Faith grew up together and were always very close. Everyone always suspected that when they grew up they would end up together, so it was actually a bit of a relief when at sixteen Gavin began to phase and imprinted on Faith less than twenty minutes after his first full phase. They too married and carried on the Clearwater bloodline making both sets of parents exceptionally pleased.

It was a double edge sword for Seth and Lina. They got to watch their children grow and have families of their own and live full and happy lives, but they also had to watch their children leave the world, leaving them behind to mourn for the rest of their days.

Sarina had grown to be just as beautiful as her mother and just as determined and strong as her father. When she became old enough she began to phase and shocked everyone when her phased form was in fact not a wolf, but instead a mountain lion. Not that she needed to have a phased form since one aspect of Lina's dream before Sarina was born did actually turn out to be valid. During the great vampire uprising following the defeat of the Volturi she was nearly captured by scouting nomads from the Southern clans. It was in the moment when she was in most imminent peril that everyone finally knew what lay within sweet quiet Sarina. Not only did she have a shield that protected her from physical attack, but she also had the ability to implant fear directly into the minds of those who meant her harm. In a matter of seconds she repelled a team of six nomads and left them screaming in madness on the forest floor until the pack and her family arrived to finish them off.

Sarina later became a strong leader among the tribe and eventually met her mate and imprinted letting go of her inner lion. She married and had children as well but chose to keep her family name and pass it to her children in honor of the Black family's history within the tribe. The Clearwaters and the Blacks were still deeply entrenched in the Quileute community long after the passing of both couple's children and often ended up holding leadership roles helping others adjust to the more macabre aspects of their world.

The bonfire began to disband as the guests warily maneuvered past the Cullens in order to leave with only the newest generations of Blacks and Clearwaters staying behind to get to know the rest of the family better. Seth, Lina, Jake, and Nessie were regular visitors to the area, often coming through at least yearly in order to make sure everyone was okay, but the rest of the Cullens typically chose not to come and were new to this generation of descendents.

Seth and Lina made their way around the group hugging their family members and taking turns holding the newest babies to be added to the family tree. The sadness when they would remember their own children was great, and a day did not pass that they didn't miss them, but at least they still had each other and even after over a hundred years together, they were still very much in love.

As the last of the guests left to return home and the fire died down to glowing orange embers, the Cullens excused themselves to return home and unpack as Seth and Lina sat on an old log facing out toward the ocean where the moon hovered large and white above the cresting waves. Seth reached out and wrapped Lina in his arms pulling her close and placing kisses on her head before tipping her face up to look into his eyes.

"Remember the night after I proposed and we sat here just like this?" he asked before bending down and placing a gentle kiss on her smooth lips.

She smiled, the faint memory coming to the forefront of her mind and snuggled closer to his chest nodding.

Seth sighed as he looked out at the water beyond before turning back to gaze into her eyes which were no longer the green he loved, but the topaz he had grown to adore just as much. "It's still true today. My Present, My Future, My Always and forever…no mater what happens, when it happens, or how it happens….we are going to face it together. I promise you that."

Lina reached her cool hand up to rest on his face. "Always and forever" she whispered in a higher and more musical timber than she had when last she spoke those words to Seth on that very bluff, but the sentiment was still the same. She placed a gentle kiss on his lips before laying her head against his chest as they both stared out into the dark expanse beyond and she breathed in and out to the rhythm of Seth's calm and faithful heartbeat.

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Author's Note: I have to give credit where credit is due. My inspiration for Sarina's phase form actually came from one of my favorite fanfics written by the lady who encouraged me to post to begin with, Unofficial Cullen and her story Something Other. Thanks for letting me use your concept Ness. I appreciate it.

**_Wow…it's hard to actually log in and submit this and actually let it be over. This story really has been so close to my heart. Thank you all once again for your loyal readership and consistent reviews. As of the time that I am posting this chapter we have 512 reviews. That is so tremendous! Thank you to each and every one of you and I hope to see you around on FF!!!_**

_**A Cullen Wannabe (aka Jen)**_


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